‘Understanding Offence’ Project

Led by Helen Fenwick and Patrick Zuk (Modern Languages and Cultures), the IAS major project “Understanding Offence” delves into the complexities surrounding the concept of offence. Funded by IAS Project Funds and the British Academy, the project has been ongoing since 2022 and has included five workshops and a final conference held in 2023–24. These events involved members of the HRPLC and two PGRs from the Centre, who served as research assistants.

As an offshoot of this work, the ‘Cancel Culture’ colloquium, funded by additional IAS support, was held on 26 February 2025 as a joint IAS and HRPLC event. All HRPLC members, including PGRs, were invited to participate. This project remains ongoing, with plans for more joint HRPLC and IAS events. Discussions are currently underway with Bloomsbury to publish an edited collection based on the papers from the February 2025 conference , which featured contributions from two Centre members. The collection is expected to be published in 2026.

This project is currently in its early stages, and updates will be provided as developments occur.