diff --git a/hspec-core.cabal b/hspec-core.cabal
--- a/hspec-core.cabal
+++ b/hspec-core.cabal
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 -- see: https://github.com/sol/hpack
 
 name:             hspec-core
-version:          2.8.1
+version:          2.8.2
 license:          MIT
 license-file:     LICENSE
 copyright:        (c) 2011-2021 Simon Hengel,
diff --git a/src/Test/Hspec/Core/Hooks.hs b/src/Test/Hspec/Core/Hooks.hs
--- a/src/Test/Hspec/Core/Hooks.hs
+++ b/src/Test/Hspec/Core/Hooks.hs
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
 , aroundAll
 , aroundAll_
 , aroundAllWith
+
+, mapSubject
+, ignoreSubject
 ) where
 
 import           Prelude ()
@@ -166,3 +169,15 @@
 
 waitFor :: BinarySemaphore -> IO ()
 waitFor = takeMVar
+
+-- | Modify the subject under test.
+--
+-- Note that this resembles a contravariant functor on the first type parameter
+-- of `SpecM`.  This is because the subject is passed inwards, as an argument
+-- to the spec item.
+mapSubject :: (b -> a) -> SpecWith a -> SpecWith b
+mapSubject f = aroundWith (. f)
+
+-- | Ignore the subject under test for a given spec.
+ignoreSubject :: SpecWith () -> SpecWith a
+ignoreSubject = mapSubject (const ())
diff --git a/version.yaml b/version.yaml
--- a/version.yaml
+++ b/version.yaml
@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@
-&version 2.8.1
+&version 2.8.2