Private and Commercial Law Research Cluster

Speaker: Dr Imogen Jones, University of Leeds

Title: "Disposing of Bad Bodies: the Law Spatiality Nexus"
 
Dr Imogen Jones is an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds. Her research focusses on the intersections of law (including legal processes) and death studies. She takes a socio-legal approach to her research, drawing on empirical and theoretical insights to understand the role and impact of law and legal processes.

Auchter (2015) wrote that ‘Dead bodies are considered a problem for governance in that they require some kind of management, yet rarely considered a problem of governance in that they rarely cause us to reflect on structures of authority and power.’ The legal dispute which arose following the death of Ian Stewart-Brady provides such cause. At every level we saw the use of law to control a dead body in novel ways. These not only prompt reflections on the boundaries of law and legal authority but also highlight the importance a law spatiality nexus. In this paper, together with Jo Hawkins, I argue that engagement with this nexus positions us to better understand how legal decisions/responses and practices both produce and are produced by the socio-spatial world around them.

This event will take place in-person on Wednesday 28 February 2024 at 13:00pm in the Peter Froggatt Centre (PFC.02.025)