Cultural criminology

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Criminology
Main Theories
Methods
Subfields and other major theories
Browse

Cultural criminology is a subfield in the

representation” to evaluate the convergence of cultural and criminal processes.[3]
: 395 

As opposed to other theories, cultural criminology views crime in the context of an offenders culture as a motive to commit crime. The theory gives motives to a crime, whereas other theories, such as rational choice theory, explain what was gained.

Background

Sociologist Jack Katz is recognized by many as being a foundational figure to this approach[4] through his seminal work, Seductions of Crime, written in 1988.[5] Cultural criminology as a substantive approach, however, did not begin to form until the mid-1990s,[6] where increasing interest arose from the desire to incorporate cultural studies into contemporary criminology. Developed in both the United States and the United Kingdom, the approach has had transnational impacts.

Recent theories within cultural criminology take into account the role of space (such as urban space) in the construction of crime, positing, for example, that where an action takes place is as important as the effect of the action in determining criminality. The roles of

excitement and control in cultural criminology has laid the foundation for the sociological concept of "edgework".[7] Edgework's focus on prototypically masculine, high-risk pursuits has been criticised by a number of feminist criminologists. More recent works, however, suggest that edgework can be applied to either gender.[8]

Purpose

In Katz (1988) and other works, the goal is to find the overlap between the emotions associated with everyday life and those associated with crime.[4][9] As such, one of the main tenets of cultural criminology is the role of affect in crime.[10]

Jeff Ferrell, cited by many scholars as a forerunner of the subfield as it is known today, describes the purpose of cultural criminology as being to investigate “the stylized frameworks and

power affects the construction of crime, such as the creation and breaking of law, as well as the interplay of moral entrepreneurship, moral innovation, and transgression.[11]

Criminology and penology
Theory
Types of crime
Methods
Penology
Justice in penology
Schools
Subfields
Browse

Influences

Since the approach itself consists of a mélange of various perspectives linked together by dynamics of meaning, deliberations in this domain often invoke an assortment of theoretical elements. Cultural criminological analysis unambiguously roots itself in interactionist and constructionist tradition. More specifically, such approach concedes Howard Becker’s (1963) labelling theory, while augmenting it with a phenomenological dimension that considers the “webs of meaning and perception in which all parties are entangled.”[3]: 398 

Along with interactionist and constructionist theories, as well as ideas posed by Katz and Becker, cultural criminological work tends to explicitly cite, or be reminiscent of, the following theories and/or theorists among others:

Methods

Originally, cultural criminologists utilized one of two main research methods: either

fieldwork techniques,[14] or the main qualitative research techniques associated with the scholarly readings.[3] Cultural criminologists today also employ research methods such as participatory action research or "narrative criminology". They remain constant, however, in their rejection of abstract empiricism, positivism and administrative criminology;[2][15] these rejections and criticisms were influenced by C. Wright Mills in his seminal work The Sociological Imagination and then further developed in The Criminological Imagination by Jock Young.[16]

Criticism

A key criticism of cultural criminology states that the perspective romanticizes the criminal which downplays the severity of criminal action.[17] However, theorists such as Jock Young remind critics that the aims of cultural criminology is to place deviancy within a context of culture, regardless of how the criminal comes across.[18]

Notes

  1. S2CID 150671940
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781412931267
    .
  3. ^
    JSTOR 223510
    .
  4. ^
    JSTOR 29766697
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-465-07615-4.[page needed
    ]
  6. ISBN 978-1-55553-235-2.[page needed
    ]
  7. S2CID 144098424
    .
  8. doi:10.1093/bjc/azl064
    .
  9. S2CID 145314044
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-134-00872-8.[page needed
    ]
  11. ISBN 978-0-19-959027-8.[page needed
    ]
  12. ^ Nelson, Kristopher A. 2007. "'Webs of Significance,' Clifford Geertz." In Propria Persona: https://inpropriapersona.com/articles/webs-of-significance-clifford-geertz/. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  13. ISBN 978-0-415-23909-7.[page needed
    ]
  14. ISBN 978-1-55553-341-0.[page needed
    ]
  15. ISBN 978-1-4462-5915-3.[page needed
    ]
  16. ISBN 978-0-7456-4106-5.[page needed
    ]
  17. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2009.00699.x
    .
  18. ISBN 978-1-4462-5915-3.[page needed
    ]

Further reading
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cultural_criminology&oldid=1190572083"