NCJ Number
171268
Journal
American Sociologist Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1995) Pages: 52-61
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The apparent humanism of the sociology of deviance has been replaced with the occupation orientation of criminal justice, and the transition from social problems to deviance has had profound effects on the form and content of the study of deviant behavior.
Abstract
Akers argues the proliferation of subfields in sociology has not significantly altered the sociological enterprise in academia. By focusing on the relationship between sociology and criminology, Akers also says the emergence of separate departments and professional organizations has not had a serious impact on the discipline of sociology and contends bureaucratic separation of criminology and criminal justice does not alter the sociological core of these areas of study. He also states criminology and criminal justice are virtually the same and both are consistent with professional and intellectual traditions of sociology. The authors examine the beliefs of Akers in relation to the content of criminal justice textbooks, the discipline of criminal justice, and criminal justice as an ideology. 31 references and 2 notes