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In 2023, our Department piloted the Race and Social Justice Seminar Series to create\u00a0space for frank, research- and experience-informed conversations about how law,\u00a0policy and social structures can produce and reproduce criminalisation, inequality,
violence, and trauma. The 2024-25 brought two events\u2014one each semester. Both\u00a0sessions were designed to deepen classroom learning and to illustrate the human\u00a0consequences of policy, highlighting the University of Manchester\u2019s commitment to
embedding social responsibility and inclusion in its teaching and learning philosophy.<\/p>\n
We opened the season in November 2024 with an afternoon devoted to psychedelic\u00a0medicine in Scotland. The event was organised by Dr Lisa Williams, Senior Lecturer in\u00a0Criminology. Around thirty students and staff gathered for a screening of Psychedelics\u00a0in Scotland, a 45-minute documentary by Drugreporter that follows campaigners\u00a0seeking to legalise the therapeutic use of these substances. The film\u2019s emphasis on\u00a0lived experience, with patients recounting personal journeys from trauma to recovery,\u00a0provided the springboard for a lively, student-led panel discussion.<\/p>\n
Dr Anna Ross (University of Edinburgh), Fiona Gilbertson (Recovering Justice), Dr Jake\u00a0Hawthorn (Scottish Psychedelic Research Group) and Karen Llewellyn (Families\u00a0Campaign for Change) fielded questions on therapeutic evidence, regulatory obstacles
and community activism. The session was chaired by undergraduates from Drugs and\u00a0Society, and audience questions showed clear engagement with course material on\u00a0harm reduction and policy reform.<\/p>\n
Our second event, held in February 2025, brought former undercover detective sergeant\u00a0Neil Woods (LEAP UK) into\u00a0 conversation with Dr Felipe Neis Araujo (Lecturer in\u00a0Criminology). Woods drew on fourteen years spent infiltrating drug gangs to argue that\u00a0prohibition fuels violence, embeds organised crime and inflicts moral injury on police\u00a0officers themselves. Speaking candidly about his own PTSD to circa forty attendants, he\u00a0challenged the audience to consider the need for legally regulating currently banned\u00a0substances, adopting public-health models and exploring restorative approaches. Current students, alumni and community stakeholders engaged with Woods in a lively\u00a0Q&A session, discussing practical pathways to reform and how criminological research\u00a0can inform campaigning.<\/p>\n
Both events exemplified research-led teaching and learning in action. They were\u00a0advertised across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, reached roughly 350\u00a0potential participants, and were situated within broader departmental and public\u00a0discussions on evidence-based policy and social harm. By foregrounding the\u00a0experiences of people directly affected by drug laws, we translated abstract\u00a0criminological theory into tangible social-justice questions, aligning closely with the\u00a0University\u2019s strategic priority on social inclusion.<\/p>\n
Students\u2019 active roles were integral: Drugs and Society volunteers chaired the first\u00a0panel, and criminology ambassadors handled logistics and social-media coverage for\u00a0both events. This peer-to-peer model not only built confidence and public-engagement
skills but also strengthened the seminar series\u2019 community ethos.<\/p>\n
Scaling back from four events in 2023-24 to two this year proved prudent; attendance\u00a0held steady while scheduling pressures eased. With the proof of concept firmly\u00a0established, our next step is succession, as we expect to pass the baton to colleagues
interested in curating the 2025-26 series. Handing over organisational duties will\u00a0broaden ownership, ensure fresh thematic perspectives and embed the series as a\u00a0permanent fixture in the School\u2019s public-engagement calendar.<\/p>\n
The Race and Social Justice Seminar Series shows that when universities connect\u00a0rigorous scholarship with lived experience, they enable and encourage dialogue that\u00a0resonates far beyond campus, equipping students to turn criminological insight into
social action.<\/p>\n
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