NCJ Number
218979
Editor(s)
Alana Barton,
Karen Corteen,
David Scott,
David Whyte
Date Published
2007
Length
238 pages
Annotation
This book presents seven case studies which demonstrate how criminologists have utilized and developed their imagination to break free of, and challenge, the oppressive liberal conceptual framework which dominates the criminological arena.
Abstract
The book begins by outlining the problematic political context within which criminology as a discipline is operating. The subsequent chapters constitute a series of case studies which demonstrate that the current state of affairs within the discipline can be challenged by the utilization of a critical approach drawing on the concepts of history, biography, and structure. While these chapters comprise individual case studies, what unites them is the way in which they attempt to expand the criminological imagination. The chapters highlight how criminology necessitates an imaginative, multidisciplinary approach which has the potential to cultivate mutually beneficial interdisciplinary relationships which could enable theorists, activists, and practitioners to escape the dominant criminological paradigm that remains rooted in individual and social pathology. The book is essential reading for students and others seeking an understanding of the nature of the discipline of criminology and criminological research. It shows how a more imaginative criminology can help to visualize radically alternative visions to those proposed within the limited framework of mainstream criminological knowledge. References