Key details
Dr Michael Fiddler
Associate Professor of Criminology; Lead - Centre for Transformative and Global Justice
Michael Fiddler joined the University of Greenwich in 2006 after completing his PhD at Keele University. His thesis explored the production of space within and around prisons. His published research explores the ways in which space, architecture and visual arts coalesce to inform understandings of crime and punishment. His current research project sees him explore a ‘Ghost Criminology’ that is informed by Derrida’s notion of hauntology.
Responsibilities within the university
- Associate Professor of Criminology
- Teaching and Learning Lead, Module Leader
Awards
- Ede and Ravenscroft Prize for the most successful Keele graduate to continue onto doctorial studies
Recognition
- Fellow of the HEA
- Editorial BoardsCrime Media Culture
Prison Service Journal - External Examiner roles
Birmingham City University (concluding 2020) - Membership
European Society of Criminology
Research / Scholarly interests
Michael's main areas of interest have been representations of imprisonment, as well as theories of horror and the uncanny. His recent portfolio has generated an area that he labels 'Ghost Criminology'. This draws upon both Jacques Derrida’s notion of hauntology, as well as Abraham and Torok’s work with trauma. Ghost Criminology’s innovation lies in it application of hauntology and spectrality as conceptual frameworks to unpack and explore a sense of temporal dis-ease where it exists in relation to crime, criminality and punishment.
Key funded projects
Research on the reduction and prevention of deaths in custody - Independent Advisory Panel/Ministry of Justice (£99,000)
This research was commissioned by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody to examine the impact of their policies on reducing deaths in custody across the secure estates (prisons, police cells, secure hospitals and immigration detention centres).
Recent publications
Article
Fiddler, Michael and , Skott, Sara (2025), Haunting homes: tracing the lingering afterlives of violence in the domestic. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, Crime, Media, Culture ISSN: 1741-6590 (Print), 1741-6604 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590251359128) NB Item availability restricted.
Skott, Sara , Bengtson, Karl-Fredrik Skott, Fiddler, Michael (2025), 'Born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood': Bloodborne as a critical reflection of Ghosts of the Anthropocene. SAGE. In: , , , . SAGE, Games and Culture ISSN: 1555-4120 (Print), 1555-4139 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120251342104).
Fiddler, Michael , Linnemann, Travis, Kindynis, Theo (2023), Ghost Criminology: a framework for the discipline’s spectral turn. Oxford University Press. In: , , , . Oxford University Press, The British Journal of Criminology: An International Review of Crime and Society (BJC) ISSN: 0007-0955 (Print), 1464-3529 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azad022).
Fiddler, Michael , Kindynis, Theo, Linnemann, Travis (2023), Ghost Criminology review symposium: editor’s response. SAGE. In: , , , . SAGE, Crime, Media, Culture ISSN: 1741-6590 (Print), 1741-6604 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590231156745).
Fiddler, Michael and , (2022), Phantom architecture: Jeremy Bentham’s haunted and haunting panopticon. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, Incarceration, 3 (2) . pp. 1-18 2632-6663 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/26326663221101571).
Book
McGuinness, Paul , Simpson, Alex, Fredriksson, Tea, Fiddler, Michael (2025), Hauntology: An Introduction for Criminologists. Routledge - Taylor and Francis Group. In: , , , . Routledge - Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781003440789 (doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003440789) NB Item availability restricted.
Fanghanel, Alexandra , Milne, Emma, Zampini, Giulia Federica, Banwell, Stacy , Fiddler, Michael (2021), Sex and Crime. SAGE Publications Ltd. In: , , , . SAGE Publications Ltd, London (1st) . ISBN: 9781526491138; 9781529752281; 1529752280 (doi: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/sex-and-crime/book268495).
Book section
Fiddler, Michael and , (2022), Ghost Criminology: a (spirit) guide. New York University Press. In: , , In: Michael Fiddler, Theo Kindynis, Travis Linnemann (eds.), Ghost Criminology: The Afterlife of Crime and Punishment. New York University Press, New York (1st) . pp. 1-31 . ISBN: 9781479842438; 9781479885725; 9781479848935; 147984893X (doi: https://nyupress.org/9781479842438/ghost-criminology/) NB Item availability restricted.
Fiddler, Michael and , (2022), “The baseless fabric of this vision”: criminology, spectrality and the dialectic image. New York University Press. In: , , In: Michael Fiddler, Theo Kindynis, Travis Linnemann (eds.), Ghost Criminology. New York University Press, (1st) . ISBN: 9781479842438; 9781479885725; 9781479848935 (doi: https://nyupress.org/9781479842438/ghost-criminology/) NB Item availability restricted.
Fanghanel, Alexandra , Milne, Emma, Zampini, Giulia Federica, Fiddler, Michael , Banwell, Stacy (2021), The Future. SAGE Publications Ltd. In: , , In: Alexandra Fanghanel, Emma Milne, Giulia Federica Zampini, Stacy Banwell, Michael Fiddler (eds.), Sex and Crime. SAGE Publications Ltd, (1st) . pp. 305-319 . ISBN: 9781526491138; 9781529752281; 1529752280 (doi: ).
Fiddler, Michael and , (2021), “These violent delights have violent ends”: crime, criminality and the state in Westworld. New York University Press. In: , , In: Jonathan A. Grubb, Chad Posick (eds.), Crime TV: Streaming Criminology in Popular Culture. New York University Press, New York (1st) . pp. 68-81 . ISBN: 9781479804368; 9781479827916 (doi: https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479804368.003.0006).
Fiddler, Michael and , (2020), Chapter 13. Illegal Representations. SAGE Publications. In: , , In: Michael Fiddler, Alexandra Fanghanel, Emma Milne, Stacy Banwell, Giulia Federica Zampini (eds.), Sex and Crime. SAGE Publications, UK (1st) . ISBN: 1526491125; 9781526491121; 9781526491138 (doi: ).
Conference item
Fiddler, Michael and , (2023), Ghost criminology: an exploration of the discipline’s ‘spectral turn’ (69530). In: The 14th Asian Conference on the Social Sciences (ACSS2023), 26th - 29th May 2023, Tokyo , . , (doi: https://acss.iafor.org/presentation/submission69530/?sf_action=get_data&sf_data=all&_sf_s=Ghost+Criminology:+An+Exploration+of+the+Discipline%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Spectral+Turn%E2%80%99).
Fiddler, Michael and , (2022), Phantom architecture: Jeremy Bentham’s haunted and haunting panopticon (ACS22). In: American Society of Criminology. 2022 Annual Meeting Theme: The Future of Criminology, 16th - 19th November 2022, Atlanta , . , (doi: https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/asc/asc22/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1943241&PHPSESSID=09eljnb6s8ap59gbl7as75edkr).
Edited book
Fiddler, Michael , Kindynis, Theo, Linnemann, Travis (2022), Ghost criminology: the afterlife of crime and punishment. New York University Press. In: , , , . New York University Press, New York (1st) . ISBN: 9781479842438; 9781479885725; 9781479848935 (doi: https://nyupress.org/9781479842438/ghost-criminology/).