Legal Spectatorship

“In this important and compelling book, Kelli Moore shows how domestic violence provides a discursive space at the intersection of law and visual culture where we can see and analyze how historic forms of violence against enslaved black women endure in our current moment. Legal Spectatorship is an urgent book for our time, when so many are looking for answers and ways to respond differently to the violence all around us.” - Sora Y. Han, author of Letters of the Law: Race and the Fantasy of Colorblindness in American Law

“Kelli Moore’s Legal Spectatorship requires us to interrogate the meanings and effects of visual evidence of domestic violence. Insisting that we can’t understand the call for visual evidence outside of histories of enslavement and antiblack violence, Moore’s urgent book demands that we reread the promise of evidence to provide an account of the truth of injury, and that we continue to imagine ways for law to respond to violence.” - Jennifer C. Nash, author of Birthing Black Mothers

"Legal Spectatorship is groundbreaking and makes contributions for leveraging multiple research methods, but more important, for connecting slavery with domestic violence." - Ke M. Huang-Isherwood, International Journal of Communication

"Legal Spectatorship is a substantial contribution to numerous fields of study including criminology, media and marketing, communications and American history to name only a few. The breadth of topics, scholarships and mixed media sources covered in this publication is impressive. . . . Moore’s contribution to contemporary scholarship cannot be overstated, as she has immersed her readers into a timely and impactful discussion of the visual culture of domestic violence." - Mary E. Booth, European Journal of American Studies

"Legal Spectatorship presents a comprehensive exploration of the history, legal frameworks, and social contexts surrounding domestic violence photography. Combining historical narratives, legal analyses, and contemporary ethnographic observations, Moore offers a thought-provoking perspective on the visual culture of domestic violence and its implications for social justice. It illuminates the role of photography in shaping public perceptions, influencing legal policies, and empowering victims and activists." - Sezgi Basak Kavakli, Critical Studies in Media Communication