Cultural criminology is a subfield in the
study of crime that focuses on the ways in which the "dynamics of
meaning underpin every process in
criminal justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...
, including the definition of crime itself." In other words, cultural criminology seeks to understand crime through the context of
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
an
cultural processes[Ferrell, Jeff, Keith Hayward, and Jock Young. 2008. ''Cultural Criminology: An Investigation''. Los Angeles: SAGE. .] Rather than representing a conclusive paradigm per se, this particular form of criminological analysis interweaves a broad range of perspectives that share a sensitivity to “
image
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
,
meaning, and
representation” to evaluate the convergence of cultural and criminal processes.
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
Rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to political economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. The theory postula ...
, explain what was gained.
Background
Sociologist Jack Katz is recognized by many as being a foundational figure to this approach
through his seminal work, ''Seductions of Crime'', written in 1988. Cultural criminology as a substantive approach, however, did not begin to form until the mid-1990s, where increasing interest arose from the desire to incorporate
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
into contemporary criminology. Developed in both the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, 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
Excitation, excite, exciting, or excitement may refer to:
* Excitation (magnetic), provided with an electrical generator or alternator
* Excite Ballpark, located in San Jose, California
* Excite (web portal), web portal owned by IAC
* Electron exc ...
and control in cultural criminology has laid the foundation for the sociological concept of "edgework". Edgework's focus on prototypically masculine, high-risk pursuits has been criticised by a number of
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
criminologists. More recent works, however, suggest that edgework can be applied to either gender.
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.
As such, one of the main tenets of cultural criminology is the role of
affect in crime.
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
experiential dynamics of illicit
subcultures
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, pol ...
; the symbolic criminalization of
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
forms; and the mediated construction of crime and crime control issues.”
Moreover, the approach has often been used to demonstrate the ways in which
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
affects the construction of crime, such as the creation and breaking of law, as well as the interplay of
moral entrepreneur A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group, or formal organization that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm; altering the boundaries of altruism, deviance, duty, or compassion.Pozen, David E. 2008. We Are All Entrepreneurs Now ...
ship, moral innovation, and transgression.
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
Labeling theory posits that self-identity and the behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Labeling th ...
, while augmenting it with a
phenomenological dimension that considers the “webs of meaning and perception in which all parties are entangled.”
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:
*
Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as w ...
and his theory of “
simulacra
A simulacrum (plural: simulacra or simulacrums, from Latin '' simulacrum'', which means "likeness, semblance") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, u ...
”
*
Max Weber
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
* Clifford Geertz and the "webs of significance"
* Mike Presdee and his theory of the “carnival of crime”
* Jeff Ferrell
* Keith Hayward
* Ethnography
* Textual Analysis
* Media Analysis
* Visual Criminology
*
Semiology
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, ...
*
Phenomenology
Phenomenology may refer to:
Art
* Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties
Philosophy
* Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...
*
Mimesis
Mimesis (; grc, μίμησις, ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including ''imitatio'', imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act ...
,
*
Social ontology Social ontology is a domain-specific branch of ontology (philosophy) which studies the nature and properties of the social world. Social ontology deals with examining the various entities in the world arising from social interaction.
Notable conte ...
*
General strain theory General strain theory (GST) is a theory of criminology developed by Robert Agnew. General strain theory has gained a significant amount of academic attention since being developed in 1992.
Robert Agnew's general strain theory is considered to be ...
*
Criminal psychology
Methods
Originally, cultural criminologists utilized one of two main research methods: either
ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
and
fieldwork
Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fie ...
techniques, or the main
qualitative research
Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...
techniques associated with the scholarly readings.
Cultural criminologists today also employ research methods such as participatory
action research
Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical refle ...
or "narrative criminology". They remain constant, however, in their rejection of
abstract empiricism,
positivism
Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
and administrative criminology;
these rejections and criticisms were influenced by
C. Wright Mills
Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American Sociology, sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journ ...
in his seminal work
The Sociological Imagination
''The Sociological Imagination'' is a 1959 book by American sociologist C. Wright Mills published by Oxford University Press. In it, he develops the idea of sociological imagination, the means by which the relation between self and society can ...
and then further developed in The Criminological Imagination by
Jock Young.
Criticism
A key criticism of cultural criminology states that the perspective romanticizes the criminal which downplays the severity of criminal action. 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.
[Ferrell, J., Hayward, K and Young, J. (2015) Cultural Criminology: An Invitation. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications. .]
Notes
Further reading
*
*Ferrell, Jeff, and Keith Hayward (eds.). ''Cultural Criminology: Theories of Crime,
Theoretical Criminology
''Theoretical Criminology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the fields of criminology and penology. The journal's editors-in-chief are Mary Francesca Bosworth (University of Oxford) and Simon A. Cole (University of California
...
'' 6. Surrey, UK:
Ashgate Publishing
Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham ( Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office i ...
. .
*Ferrell, Jeff, Keith Hayward, Wayne Morrison, and Mike Presdee (eds.). 2004. ''Cultural Criminology Unleashed''. London: GlassHouse. .
*Frederick, B.J. & Larruscahim, P. (2015). Cultural criminology. In Jennings, W.G. (ed) ''The Encyclopedia of Crime & Punishment''. 1st ed. John Wiley & Sons.
*Geertz, Clifford. 1977. ''The Interpretation Of Cultures''.
Basic Books Classics. .
*Hayward, Keith. 2004. ''City Limits: Crime, Consumer Culture and the Urban Experience''. London: Glasshouse Press. .
*
*Hayward, Keith, and Mike Presdee (eds.). 2010. ''Framing Crime: Cultural Criminology and the Image.'' London:
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
. .
*Hayward, Keith, and
Jock Young (eds.). "Special issue: Edition on cultural criminology." ''
Theoretical Criminology
''Theoretical Criminology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the fields of criminology and penology. The journal's editors-in-chief are Mary Francesca Bosworth (University of Oxford) and Simon A. Cole (University of California
...
'' 8(3).
*Jewkes, Yvonne. 2010. ''Crime and the Media and Crime: New Approaches to Criminology'' (2nd ed.). Los Angeles:
SAGE
Sage or SAGE may refer to:
Plants
* ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb
** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family
** ''Salvia'', a large ...
. .
*
*O’Neill, Maggie, and Lizzie Seal. 2012. ''Transgressive Imaginations: Crime, Deviance and Culture''. London:
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
.
*
Young, Jock. 2007. ''The Vertigo of Late Modernity'' (1st ed.). London:
SAGE
Sage or SAGE may refer to:
Plants
* ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb
** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family
** ''Salvia'', a large ...
. .
*
Mindhunter (TV series)
''Mindhunter'' is an American psychological crime thriller television series created by Joe Penhall, based on the 1995 true-crime book '' Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit'' written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. The e ...
. A
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series that centers on concepts similar to that of cultural criminology.
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Criminology
Cultural studies
Semiotics
Sociological theories