The Studies in Social Harm series provides space for scholars to develop novel theoretical and methodological approaches to advance understanding of the production of harm in contemporary societies. The series is co- edited by Christina Pantazis and Simon Pemberton, along with an international advisory board that includes some of the leading thinkers in the field.

While the debates surrounding social harm are familiar to many criminologists and, in particular, critical criminologists, the central aim of the series has been to extend the notion beyond these disciplinary boundaries. By drawing together a range of scholars from multiple disciplines, it is hoped that we might develop unique interdisciplinary conversations, which are more effective in accurately detailing the harms that impact our societies, as well as offering solutions to these issues. Thus, the emphasis within the series has fallen on providing cutting- edge research that illuminates the existence and complex aetiologies of injuries in relation to the contemporary workplace, migration and environmental policy. The point being, many of the harms that are explored in the series are often ‘hidden’. They are ‘hidden’ because they are viewed with societal indifference or as a ‘given’, an unavoidable consequence of the ‘natural order’ of societies. Thus, the work in this series seeks to challenge the ‘common sense’, academic, policy and public orthodoxies that surround these harms.

Much of the initial work in this area focused on the definition of social harm and argumentation surrounding the boundaries of the term. It is notable that as the field of study maturates that focus has moved beyond these now staid debates of definition. Instead, fine- grain empirical analysis in this series, has given rise to theoretical refinement and advancement, specifically in relation to the aetiologies of harm production.