News: socio-legal publications
This page contains details of socio-legal publications including books, journals, reports, papers and newsletters/bulletins.
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Latest publications ...
Books
Springer Nature: call for human rights book proposals on SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
How can you amplify your research on human rights so that it can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions? Springer Nature is inviting proposals on this topic. Authors are invited to submit even if their research is in the very early stages and they will be contacted by an experienced book publishing editor. See webpage for details.
Springer Nature also offers a Book Publishing Essentials: free mini-course.
Deserted Wives and Economic Divorce in 19th-Century England and Wales, by Jennifer Aston and Olive Anderson: 20% discount available
This book considers Section 21 of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 and its significant impact on previously invisible married women in the nineteenth century. The detailed statistical analysis and rich case studies presented here provide a new perspective on the legal status and experiences of married women in England and Wales. Using sources including court records, parliamentary papers, newspaper reports, census returns, probate records and trade directories, this book reconstructs women's experiences protecting their assets across regions and decades. Published by Hart, SLSA members can claim 20% discount using code GLR BD8 at checkout. See website for details.
Law and Social Justice: Intersections, challenges and opportunities, edited by Simon Best, James Shipton and Jess Guth
Abstracts are invited for contributions to this edited collection arising from a conference at Leeds Trinity Law School in December 2024. See anouncement for details. The collection will be submitted to Manchester University Press. Closing date for abstracts: 31 January 2025.
Legal Education and Social Justice, edited by Jess Guth, James Shipton and Simon Best: call for abstracts
Abstracts are invited for contributions to this edited collection arising from a conference at Leeds Trinity Law School in December 2024. See announcement for details. Closing date for abstracts: 31 January 2025.
New book: Leading Works in Law and Anthropology, edited by Alice Margaria and Larissa Vetters
The academic disciplines of law and sociocultural anthropology have a long but at times contentious history of drawing on each other in order to study and understand law and human experience in its diverse manifestations. This volume provides an innovative and engaging format by giving established and emerging scholars from diverse jurisdictions the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon what they consider to be a ‘leading work’. See website for details. Use code EFLY03 for 20% discount.
New book: Family Law Reform Now: Proposals and critique, edited by Charlotte Bendall and Rehana Parveen: 20% discount
This collection provides a snapshot of big ideas in family law reform. It asks: if you could change one part of family law, what would it be? This deceptively simple question is answered by 10 family law experts and debated within the volume by expert respondents.
The book puts the proposal first, forcing authors (and their respondents) to critically engage with what family law should look like, and where the development of law is needed to address the changing landscape of family life. Cultural and religious plurality, the use of technology, and changes in societal attitudes have all had an impact on the continuing evolution of families. As a consequence, the law has some complex challenges to address in its attempt to regulate familial diversity. See website and flyer for details and discount code.
New book: Rethinking Human Rights: Critical insights from Palestinian youth by Erika Jiménez: 20% discount
Drawing on research in the occupied West Bank, this book explores the three layers of marginalisation faced by Palestinian young people—the occupation; the Palestinian pseudo-state; and patriarchal structures—to show how these barriers influence their understanding of, and scepticism towards, human rights. Influenced by decolonialist theories, this book illuminates how space needs to be created for the counter-narratives of the oppressed in human rights discourse which may not align with more orthodox representations of human rights. It contends that human rights in the Palestinian context (and beyond) needs to be critiqued, decolonised and ultimately transformed. See website for details. Use code GLR BD8 at checkout.
New book: Gender, Sexuality and Law: A Textbook, edited by Chris Ashford and Alexander Maine: 25% member discount
This textbook combines pioneering feminist and queer judgments and statutes with critical and intersectional theories, to provide a comprehensive overview of the field of gender, sexuality and law. A diverse range of socio-legal experts set out the theoretical and legal foundations of the topic, before examining the ongoing struggle for rights and contemporary dissenting voices. See website for details. Use code SLSA25 for SLSA member discount.
Journals
New journal – Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance
Cambridge University Press is excited to launch their new open access journal Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance with the publication of the first cluster of content from the inaugural themed issue on ‘Comparative Perspectives on the Regulation of Large Language Models’. All content is free to access here. There are also cfps open for three special issues: closing dates 1 March 2025 and 31 March 2025. See website for details.
Laws special issue: Repelling Asylum-Seekers in Europe? Asylum-Seekers as an 'Anomaly' in EU and UK Migration Laws and Policies: call for papers
Laws is inviting submissions for a special issue. To find out more please see the website or flyer. Closing date: 30 October 2025.
Legalities: The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Law and Society – call for papers
Legalities is the official journal of the Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand (LSAANZ), and the premier journal for socio-legal studies in the region of Aotearoa, Australasia and the Global South. The editors are seeking submissions for the next general issue of the journal, due to be published in October 2025. See announcement and website for details.
Blogs and other online resources
NEW SAFI Blog
From January 2025 the SAFI Blog will be publishing monthly posts. If you would like to contribute a blog post yourself, contact Alma Diamond
A Colonial Legacy: The Disproportionate Removal of Inuit Children from Their Mothers in Denmark
The very first blog post in 2025 is written by Caterina Diotto. See website for details.
Sentencing Council: latest updates on strangling and strangulation offences and sentencing guidelines
The Sentencing Council has produced comprehensive resources relating to these offences. See press release for details.
Nuffield Foundation latest newsletter: December 2024
Read the latest updates from the Nuffield Foundation.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation latest newsletter: December 2024
The latest JRF newsletter is now available.
National Centre for Research Methods: Methods News December 2024
Read the latest issue including details of the NCRM's many events and training opportunities.
Public Law Project: Latest newsletter
For the latest Public Law Project news, see the full update here.
Academy of Social Sciences: October ebulletin
See the latest AcSS eBulletin for news of all Academy of Soscial Sciences activities.
Judicial Appointments Commission: latest issue of Judging Your Future
The Judicial Appointments Commission has published its latest newsletter. See webpage for details.
Latest from the JLS Blog
Meet the book author
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The Migrant’s Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration by Brianna Nofil, The College of William & Mary
Meet the JLS author
- Trust at the border: reality TV, securitization and the construction of (in)credibility by Laura Smith-Khan, University of New England
General post
Latest from Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies
Latest from Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies: Discourse analysis of court judgments – An effective (and sufficient) method for critically analysing judicial conceptions of justice
Bhavna Ramji explores using text analysis of verdicts to understand how judges construct justice. Read the full post here, which is published as part of the blog’s Methodological Musings section.
The blog always welcomes submissions providing analysis of recent socio-legal research, methodological issues, ethical issues, and publications from around the globe: Frontiers can be found at Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies and on Twitter @OxfordCSLS.
Other
SAFI Newsletter: end of year update 2024
SAFI, an interdisciplinary network for women in legal academia, has published its 2024 roundup. See website for further details about the network.
Sentencing Council: Research review of the Overarching principles – domestic abuse sentencing guideline
See website for all the documents relating to this review by resarchers at Nottingham Trent University.
Sentencing Council Submission to Sentencing Review 2024–25
The Sentencing Council has submitted its evidence in response to the call for evidence issued by the Independent Sentencing Review 2024-2025. Led by the Rt Hon David Gauke, the independent review panel is expected to publish its findings in Spring 2025.