Working Group Report - European Historical Criminology Working Group

Miikka Vuorela

Miikka Vuorela

University of Eastern Finland

09-05-2022

The primary official function of the European Historical Criminology working group (EHC-WG) has been to organise annual thematic panels at the Eurocrim conferences. During the pandemic we hosted panel sessions in the virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021. Especially the first online event was a success for the working group, and we held a roundtable discussion on the future of the European historical criminology research in addition to the usual panel presentations. We are also currently organising a panel session to the 2022 live conference in Malaga which will be the first official live event hosted by the working group since it was revived in 2019. Besides the official activities at the ESC events we have had regular communication and unofficial co-operation in other events.

Before the pandemic hit we had begun planning the regular activities of the working group. We held a member survey to map their opinions of the hoped activities of the working group. The main takeaways were a regular newsletter with a publication list and a regular event for historical criminologists with moving institution responsibility. However, the pandemic effectively grinded our new activities to a halt so we are back at the drawing board.
 

Apparent in both the member survey and our pre-existing plans is that the main function of the working group is to facilitate communication and bring together European historical criminologists. The sharing of information about events and publications and getting to know fellow colleagues has been the main working method of the group and it will remain so in the future as well. The pandemic and the following global crises have recently highlighted the need for historical criminology research. We strive to bring together people interested in the topic and encourage the study of historical criminology in Europe.

We welcome all member of the society interested in historical themes to join our working group!