Dr Jack Denham

Teaching

I teach across our Sociology and Criminology BA programmes. This includes a first year research skills module (Researching and Presenting), a second year methodological module (Research Methods 1), and several optional modules on crime, media, cultural sociology and death.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Research

I was awarded a PhD from University of York in 2018, focusing on the cultural consumption of crime - namely crime museums, murderabilia, and representations of crime in popular culture. Since then, my work has taken a particular interest in the ways in which crime is 'played' in video games, and how we increasingly carry out a lot of our social lives in digital play. Alongside this, a lot of my research is methodological - exploring innovative ways to find out about the social world.

I am the co-editor of the book series 'Death & Culture' (Bristol University Press), and the co-leader of IGRG (Interactive Games Research Group). I supervise two PhD students (Caitlin Veal & Andy Taylor), and currently act as the Research & Knowledge Transfer Lead for York Business School.

My current work (funded by SIGN [Screen Industries Growth Network]) investigates the ways in which video games can help teach us about the world, and how those lessons can be operationalized in formal educational environments.

Professional Activities

Organising conferences and academic events

2020       Death and Culture III (at York St John)

2018       Death and Culture Conference 

2016       Death and Culture (three-day international conference)

2015       Marginal Death Research in the Social Sciences 

2010       The National Deviancy Conference (three-day international conference)

Memberships

I am a member of the British Society of Criminology, the Centre for URBan Research (CURB) and the Death and Culture Network.  I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

Denham, J. & Spokes, M. (2022). Little Data: Negotiating the New Normal with Idiosyncratic and Incomplete Datasets. International Journal of Social Research Methodology.

Denham, J. & Spokes, M. (2020). The Right to the Virtual City: Rural Retreatism in Open-World Video Games. New Media & Society 23:6 pp1567-1583.

Denham, J. Hirschler, S. & Spokes, M. (2019). The Reification of Structural Violence in Video Games. Crime, Media, Culture 17:1 pp85-103.

Denham, J. (2019). Collecting the Dead: Art, Antique and ‘Aura’ in Personal Collections of Murderabilia. Mortality. 25:3 pp332-347

Spokes, M. & Denham, J. (2019). Developing Interactive Elicitation: Social Desirability Bias and Capturing Play. The Qualitative Report. 24:4 pp781-794.

Denham, J. & Spokes, M. (2018). Thinking Outside the Murder Box. Virtual Violence and Pro-Social Action in Video Games. British Journal of Criminology. 39:3 pp737-755.

Denham, J. (2016). The Commodification of the Criminal Corpse: ‘Selective Memory’ in Posthumous Representations of Criminal. Mortality. 21:3 pp229-245.

Books:

Spokes, M. Denham, J. & Lehmann, B. (2018). Death, Memorialization and Deviant Spaces. Bingley: Emerald.

Book Chapters:

Denham, J. (2023). The Staycation. The Sofa, Home. In Lynes, A., Kelly, C., & Treadwell, J. (eds). (2023). 50 Dark Destinations: Crime and Contemporary Tourism. Bristol: Policy Press

Denham, J. (2020). The commodification of the criminal corpse: ‘selective memory’ in posthumous representations of criminal. In Schrift, M. (ed). Criminal Bodies in the West: Iconography and Life after Death. Abingdon: Routledge.

Other:

Denham, J. Spokes, M. & Hirschler, S. (2019). Video game violence is not the problem – the real world that inspires it is. The Conversation.

Denham, J. (2017). Dark Authenticities: Criminal Memorabilia and Consumer Culture. PhD Thesis, University of York.

Denham, J. (2016). A Book Review of William Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body. Crime, Media, Culture. 13:3 pp385-387.

Denham, J. (2014). A Book Review of Digital Culture Industry: A History of Digital Distribution. Information, Communication, Society. 17:8 pp1055-1057.

Conference Papers:

Denham, J. & Spokes, M. (2020). The Right to the Virtual City: Rural Retreatism in Open-World Video Games. Spelunking, 22 July, York (online).

Denham, J. Hirschler, S. & Spokes, M. (2019). The Reification of Systemic Violence in Video Games. DiGRA, 6-10 August, Kyoto.

Spokes, M. Denham, J. & Lehmann, B. (2018). Death, Memorialization and Deviant Spaces. Death & Culture II, 6-7 September, York.

Denham, J. & Spokes, M. (2018). Thinking Outside the Murder Box. Virtual Violence and Pro-Social Action in Video Games. Playing Dead, 17 May, York.

Denham, J. (2016). The Commodification of the Corpse: ‘Selective Memory’ and a Lack of Authenticity in Posthumous Representations of the Criminal. Celebrity Studies Conference, 28-30 June, Amsterdam.

Denham, J. (2015). Doing Research at Crime Museums in the UK and USA. Museums Showoff, 3 Feb, London.

Denham, J. (2014). Murderabilia Museums: Bringing Death to Life through Exhibitions of Violent Crime. Museums Alive, 4-5 Nov, Leicester.