Affective atmosphere and white-collar crime: A case of transgressive thrill in the art fair

Our conceptions and responses to crime are primarily based on sight, however, we experience the world through different sensorial interactions that cannot be clearly separated. The senses are important to our meaning-making. McClanahan and South (2020) contend that one way we can approach the sensory dimensions of crime is through the concept of ‘atmospheres’. In other disciplines research focused on the sensory and atmospheres has grown, yet in criminology this has not been a widely explored perspective. In particular, there has been little sensory research done in the field of white-collar crime. This chapter explores what a focus on unobservable structures, sensory modalities, and atmospheres can add to our research on white-collar crime, particularly as it relates to the organizational culture and behaviour of white-collar actors. By attuning to sensorial modalities and atmospheres, it is possible to create more nuanced, layered theories of white-collar crime.