NCJ Number
57052
Date Published
1979
Length
237 pages
Annotation
MAJOR THEMES AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN 20TH-CENTURY AMERICAN CRIMINOLOGY ARE EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE BOOK DEALS PRIMARILY WITH SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS, SECONDARILY WITH THE SOCIAL CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THESE CONCEPTS WERE DEVELOPED AND WITH THE BACKGROUNDS AND CAREERS OF THE CRIMINOLOGISTS WHO DEVELOPED THEM, AND ONLY TANGENTIALLY WITH CRIMINOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES (E.G., BIOLOGICAL, GENETIC, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF CRIME) THAT HAVE ARISEN IN OTHER DISCIPLINES. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE IN CRIMINOLOGY, THE FOCUS OF THE DISCUSSION IS ON THEORIES OF CAUSATION, ALTHOUGH ATTENTION IS ALSO DIRECTED TO DETERRENCE, ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES, AND OTHER MATTERS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPLORED BY CRIMINOLOGISTS. AN INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW OF THE NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY IDENTIFIES KEY QUESTIONS IN CRIMINOLOGICAL INQUIRY. SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS ARE ORGANIZED CHRONOLOGICALLY, COVERING THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF AMERICAN CRIMINOLOGY IN THE LATE 1800'S AND 1970, AND CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS OF THE 1970'S. INCLUDED ARE DETAILED DISCUSSIONS OF DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY, SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY, THE LABELING AND CONFLICT PERSPECTIVES, AND RADICAL-MARXIST CRIMINOLOGY. MAJOR RESEARCH STUDIES, INCLUDING THE CHICAGO SOCIOLOGISTS' INVESTIGATIONS OF GANG DELINQUENCY IN THE 1930'S, ARE DISCUSSED IN DEPTH. THE BOOK CLOSES WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE FUTURE OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY. CHALLENGES TO MAINSTREAM CRIMINOLOGISTS POSED BY CONFLICT AND RADICAL THEORISTS ARE NOTED, AND REVISIONS IN CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY ARE SUGGESTED. AN INDEX IS PROVIDED. (LKM)