CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY:
An International Journal
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Criminology is the official journal of the American Society of
Criminology’s Division on Critical Criminology.
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PLEASE NOTE:
Paul Leighton's term as editor has ended. The Journal remains active, but these pages
will not be updated beyond what occurred during Paul's editorship.
Please check the journal's
official homepage at Springer (formerly Kluwer) for current
information.
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The full text of all
articles is available via
Critical
Criminology's official homepage at Springer (click on
the volume/issue, then the article, and login or purchase access)
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Critical
Criminology, Existential Humanism, and Social Justice: Exploring the
Contours of Conceptual Integration
Bruce A. Arrigo
The
relationship between critical criminology and social justice has been
well documented, but efforts to provide a unified theory of social
justice that cuts across and embodies the various strains of critical
criminological thought has not been systematically researched. One
useful approach for engaging in such a project comes from existential
humanism, which draws our attention to a number of life themes (e.g.,
the struggle to be free, being and becoming, redemption) and is
compatible with critical criminology’s commitment to radical social
change. In this article, I provisionally explore the boundaries of
theoretical synthesis, mindful of those complex (and thorny) issues upon
which successful conceptual integration depends, including definitions,
assumptions, domains of inquiry and modes of integration. I conclude by
outlining the implications of my commentary for the future of critical
criminology and for sustainable, meaningful praxis. [Access
full text via SpringerLink] |
Wither Criminal Justice?
An Argument for a Reformed Discipline
The
American criminal justice system fails to achieve justice, reduce crime,
and provide equal protection to Americans regardless of their social
class, race, and gender. But, criminal justice as an academic area
of study has become a popular and fast growing liberal arts majors in
the United States, churning out tens of thousands to work in the
criminal justice system. Given the demonstrable harms caused by criminal
justice, which are suffered disproportionately by the least powerful
people, academic criminologists and criminal justicians have the
obligation to promote a reformed discipline. This paper briefly
summarizes the evidence of bias in the criminal justice system and then
turns to how these biases relate to criminal justice as an academic
discipline. Using the war on drugs as an example, I argue that the
practice of criminal justice as an academic endeavor runs counter to the
goal of promoting social justice in America. One of the ironic
conclusions of this paper is that criminal justice as an academic
discipline must get smaller if we are to achieve larger goals of social
justice outlined in this paper. [Access
full text via SpringerLink] |
The Discourse of
Criminality: From Beccaria to Postmodernism—Why Does It Matter?
Jeffery T.
Walker and John A. Boyeskie
The
use of discourse in criminological thought and writing is touted as
though it is a recent event; building off the work of postmodernism. In
reality, however, the use of discourse in addressing criminological
concepts goes back to the earliest works in criminology (although it was
not referred to as discourse at that time). This article discusses the
history of discourse in criminality, focusing specifically on Beccaria
and Lombroso. Application for current use of discourse is suggested as a
way of making postmodernist writing perhaps more useful to a wider
audience. [Access
full text via SpringerLink] |
Empowering Victim
Advocates: Organizing Against Anti-Gay/Lesbian Violence In Canada
C. E. Faulkner
In this paper I provide an account of an
emancipatory community-based response to anti-gay/lesbian violence in
Canada through outlining the model developed by The 519 Church Street
Community Centre Anti-Violence Programme (AVP) (previously known as the
Victim Assistance Programme) in downtown Toronto. The data for this
paper was obtained through participant observation over a five year
period from 1993-1997 when I was a volunteer with The 519 AVP’s
Community Response to Bashing Committee (CRBC) in Toronto. It is the
goal of this paper to document and critique the model developed at The
519 by focussing on advocacy, policing issues, education, and the
production of knowledge about anti-gay/lesbian violence. While the
Committee’s inclusionary agenda seems to be the most strategic
approach to gaining equity in services in existing institutions,
contradictions arise which suggest that ruptures exist between the
promise of mainstream institutional change and resistance to lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer (LGBTQ) activism. [Access
full text via SpringerLink] |
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Ian Taylor
died in the Winter of 2001. The final book of his productive scholarly
career was published simultaneously by Polity Press in the U.K.
(Cambridge) and by Westview in the U.S, a rare accomplishment in
academic publishing. Two testimonials on the back cover address the
substance and relevance of Taylor and his final contribution. Elliot
Currie says, “With this book, Ian Taylor confirms his standing as one
of the most thoughtful students of crime and society writing anywhere in
the world today. Crime
in Context is well-reasoned, wide-ranging and important—a
major contribution to our understanding of the ways in which the
enormous social and economic transformations of our time are reshaping
the problems of crime and social order.” Jock Young reverberates,
“This timely book will be useful both to students and professional
criminologists in that it puts late twentieth-century developments in
crime and disorder within a broad social and historical context. There
is no other book that does this. I have no doubt it will find a wide and
enthusiastic audience.”
| While I agree with their
assessments, I question how wide the book’s audience will be -
especially in North America, where today’s driving forces of
global market society reside. I’m skeptical about the wide and
enthusiastic audience even though Crime
in Context received the American
Society of Criminology’s Michael Hindelang Award for the
most outstanding book in 2000. In fact, I was a member of the
committee that gave Ian’s book this prestigious award, one of
two members who enthusiastically supported it from the beginning
of the voting process. Thus, I certainly believe that it’s a
book that should be read by anyone who claims to be a
criminologist and by any curious person who wants to know how
crime and crime control work. [Access
full text via SpringerLink] |
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Professor Sarat's anthology is a significant
contribution to the death penalty literature, especially the study of
the symbolic meaning of capital punishment in society and the cultural
consequences of living in a "killing state." Several essays
should particularly interest critical criminologists because of their
provocative postmodern analyses. The ten essays are divided into three
sections. Four essays in the first section address "The Politics of
State Killing" and focus on the relationship between capital
punishment and democracy. Three essays in the second section on
"Capital Punishment and Legal Values" examine capital
punishment's adverse effect on a society's legal system. Three essays in
the last section on "The Death Penalty and the Culture of
Responsibility" explore the basic ideas of freedom, responsibility
and the role of capital punishment in the cultural constitution of
social identity. [Access
full text via SpringerLink]
More
death penalty information and exploring
televised executions
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