St Mary’s University to Open New Centre for Law and Culture

St Mary’s University, Twickenham is expanding its research provision with the launch of a new Centre for Law and Culture in June. The new Centre, which forms part of the University’s School of Management and Social Sciences, will officially launch on Wednesday 11th June and will be a hub for fostering and actively promoting research and scholarly activity related to the various emanations and intersections of law and culture. Co-directed by St Mary’s Lecturers in Law Dr Thomas Giddens and Judith Bourne, the Centre’s work and unique identity is underpinned by both engaging with and blending multiple disciplines and approaches, whist focusing on the complex problems of law and justice. The focus on Law will explore and examine aspects of legal theory and philosophy, such as moral and responsibility theory, criminology, legal history, gender and sexuality, jurisprudence, legal ethics, socio-legal studies and social or political theory. Meanwhile the emphasis on Culture will explore aesthetic or creative cultural products including literature, film and graphic fiction, as well as particular aspects of wider society and culture within which the law operates like history, professional legal culture, popular culture or multiculturalism. The Centre will focus its research on these various aspects of Law and Culture and how they overlap. St Mary’s Law Lecturer and co-Director for the Centre Thomas Giddens said, “This new Centre will bring an innovative diversity to our research culture, and is a great step in the development of law and legal studies at St Mary’s. What’s more, the enhanced research culture that will come with the new Centre will also have an impact on the undergraduate student experience, enriching the teaching and courses on the law programmes. “We are very excited about the events we are planning, which include an international conference in September and a series of public lectures throughout the coming academic year.”