A message from CrimSL Director Audrey Macklin:
One common experience during the pandemic is that we sometimes lose track of time.
I know I am not alone in catching myself thinking that I did something last year, only to realize that it must have been in 2019…
This newsletter is a wonderful reminder that the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies has not been in suspended animation for the last two years. Students have entered our program, and many have graduated. New doctoral students have joined, and some have exited with CrimSL PhDs to explore exciting new professional horizons.
Colleagues have published books, chapters, articles, and reports, won research grants and awards, and contributed to academic knowledge and public awareness about anti-Black racism in the justice system, the war in Ukraine, the governance of infrastructure in our cities and universities, global policing, gentrification, policing and politics, the (ab)use of segregation in corrections, the complexities of transnational justice, legal histories of empire – and more. Criminological Highlights continues to reach a wide international audience, providing scholars, students, policymakers and legal professionals with a digest and analysis of the best criminological research out there. Our doctoral students have been juggling the multiple demands of research and professional development with admirable dexterity, and we know it has not always been easy.
We welcomed five post-doctoral students this year who shared their research with us in a series of webinars. This year, our John Ll. J Edwards lecturer was Prof. Val Napoleon of the University of Victoria, the founding director of the Indigenous Law Program. She delivered an inspiring lecture entitled ‘Prisms of Justice: Indigenous Perspectives’ to an appreciative audience of over 300 people.
June marks two important transitions: convocation for our graduating students in the undergraduate program, and also the retirement of two members of the CrimSL Community: CrimSL Librarian Andrea Shier, and Senior Lecturer Dr. William Watson. We will be celebrating their contributions to the CrimSL community and wishing them well in their next adventures, even as we know we will miss them. We also welcome Eunillyne Lazado, our Communications Officer, whose talent and effort have brought you this newsletter.
Happy spring to all!
Audrey Macklin
Director, Criminology & Sociolegal Studies