SPIN Autumn Newsletter

Here is a roundup of all the goings-on in terms of new members, new publications, a new sub-group, an da call for submissions!

 

New Members

A very warm welcome to new members:

 

Hannah Richards: Graduate Tutor and ESRC-funded PhD researcher in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University

• Research:Hannah’s doctoral research looks at the British military court centre and asks what this space can tell us about the military’s relationship with human rights. With research focusing on transparency and open justice in the military, SPIN is excited to welcome her into the fold.
• Profile:Hannah Richards – Cardiff University

 

Natasha Mulvihill: Associate Professor in Criminology for the School of Policy Studies at the University of Bristol

• Research:Natasha has worked on domestic, sexual, and ‘honour’ violence and abuse and written particularly on the sex industry and related policy. Natasha’s research, which is both theoretical and practice-oriented, provides insight into the elements of power and secrecy within this field. SPIN is pleased to welcome her onboard.
• Profile:Natasha Mulvihill – University of Bristol

 

Lewis Bush: PhD Candidate in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and SPIN Research Fellow, 2023

• Research:Lewis’ research focuses on the implications of automation and ‘artificially intelligent’ software systems for photojournalism. Aiming to spark in-depth conversations about the potential and risks around these technologies and shape the development of policies and regulations. SPIN is excited to welcome Lewis as a 2023 Research Fellow working on a new art commission, Trading Zones.
• Profile: Lewis Bush – London School of Economics

 

New Publications and Press 

• Williams, Eleanor Leah and Thomas Leahy. ‘The ‘Unforgivable’?: Irish Republican Army (IRA) informers and dealing with Northern Ireland conflict legacy, 1969-2021’, in Intelligence and National Security 2022. On how the UK government, Irish republicans and other self-confessed/alleged Irish Republican Army (IRA) informers deal with the legacy of informing post conflict in Northern Ireland.
• Stevens, Clare, Elspeth Van Veeren, Brian Rappert, and Owen D. Thomas. “Being Curious with Secrecy.” Secrecy and Society, 3 (2023).
• A new Special Issue on Secrecy and Technologies in Secrecy and Society, edited by Clare Stevens and Sam Forsythe.
• Stevens, Clare. “Technologies and Time Tempers: How Things Mediate a State’s (Cyber Vulnerability) Disclosure Practices.” Secrecy and Society 3.1 (2023).
• Peacock, Chloe (2023) ‘Amnesia and the erasure of structural racism in criminal justice professionals’ accounts of the 2011 English disturbances’, in The Sociological Review, on the structural racism of criminal justice professionals’ accounts of the 2011 English ‘riots’.
• Lewis Bush has authored an opinion piece in Haaretz on the recently released Indiana Jones movie, highlighting how truth is stranger than fiction (and is connected to his latest project, Depravity’s Rainbow).

 

Announcements

 

GoSSIP

We’re pleased to announce the formation of a new SPIN Working Group – GoSSIP: Gender, Sexuality, Secrecy and Ignorance Project group. If your work includes exploring the gendered and/or sexual dimensions of secrecy and/or ignorance, please consider joining us. We plan to meet regularly to share work and explore potential collaborations. To find out more or to join, please email one of GoSSIP’c coordinators Natalie Ferris (n.ferris@bristol.ac.uk), Natasha Mulvihill (natasha.mulvihill@bristol.ac.uk) or Elspeth Van Veeren (e.vanveeren@bris.ac.uk).

 

Call for Submissions: The A-Z of Secrecy and Ignorance 

 

We’re moving forward on our long-standing plans to produce a new resource for secrecy studies and ignorance studies, an edited volume and online resource, The A-Z of Secrecy and Ignorance. Built around core concepts and ideas associated with these areas of research, each entry will begin as a short 300 to 700-word summary of the concept (or idea) with links to additional resources (see Global Social Theory or I-PEEL.org as examples) and potentially building towards a more extensive resource in the longer-term, including a book version to be published with illustrations and images, including from our SPIN-MPF Commission programme.

 

You can see sample entries for Gaslighting and for Curiosity, created by Erin Jenkins.

 

If you research a secrecy and/or ignorance concept (or set of concepts) and/or you are interested in exploring something that might suit the A-Z, please consider contributing something. It can be any concept from Backstage, Bullshit, or Conspiracy Theory to Transparency, Trust, or Wilful Ignorance and everything in between and beyond.  And each entry will be blogged, tweeted and linked to the author’s research. And, if you would like more ideas, we have an existing list of potential topics. We’ll also be reaching out to different people beyond the existing SPIN network.

 

Do consider penning an entry!

 

For more info, please email Elspeth e.vanveeren@bris.ac.uk

 

 

You can find details on past publications, members, events and even recordings across the SPIN website.

 

If you have an event relevant to SPIN, please do get in touch secrecyresearch@gmail.com.