Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology

2nd edition

Walter S. DeKeseredy, Molly Dragiewicz, Walter S. DeKeseredy, Molly Dragiewicz

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781317221821
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

The main objective of the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology is twofold: (1) to provide original chapters that cover contemporary critical criminological theoretical offerings generated over the past five years and (2) to provide chapters on important new substantive topics that are currently being studied and theorized by progressive criminologists. Special attention is devoted to new theoretical directions in the field, such as southern criminology, queer criminology, and green criminology.

The diverse chapters cover not only cutting-edge theories, but also the variety of research methods used by leading scholars in the field and the rich data generated by their rigorous empirical work. In addition, some of the chapters suggest innovative and realistic short- and long-term policy proposals that are typically ignored by mainstream criminology. These progressive strategies address some of the most pressing social problems facing contemporary society today, which generate much pain and suffering for socially and economically disenfranchised people.

The new edition of the Handbook is a major work in redefining areas within the context of international multidisciplinary critical research, and in highlighting emerging areas, such as human trafficking, Internet pornography and image-based sexual abuse. It is specifically designed to be a comprehensive resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and policymakers.

Part 1
Beyond critique

Theoretical perspectives

Walter S. DeKeseredy and Molly Dragiewicz

Introduction¹

So, the increase in the scope of critical criminology, its intrusion across the borderline into other disciplines, brings with it real theoretical gains and insights. But there is much left to do: all that can be stressed is that it is within critical criminology that serious discussions of theory occur.

(Young, 2013, p. xlvii)

In 1991, Martin Schwartz made explicit his thoughts on the future of critical criminology and drew three conclusions. One of which is, “critical criminology must define itself, and develop a theory which is something more than exposing the weaknesses of everyone else. . . .” (p. 123). His view was also shared by orthodox criminologists at that time and is still adhered to by most of them in this current era. Schwartz, of course, publicly identifies himself as a progressive, while mainstream criminologists never did (and still don’t) want to have anything to do with critical criminology. Another difference between orthodox scholars and Schwartz was that he was optimistic about the future of critical criminology and stated that, “it is infused with more energy and exciting alternatives than at any point in the past 20 years” (p. 123). The energy Schwartz referred to spawned the creation of what was then four new theoretical directions: left realism, feminism, peacemaking criminology, and postmodern criminology. Now, as stated in the previous section of this handbook, there are at least 12 variants of critical criminological thought and some new types are probably in the works.

What Carlen (2007/2008) stated ten years ago still applies today: [P]olitical economy perspectives are now more relevant to a range of global and local harm issues” (p. 3). Robert Reiner expands on this assertion in Chapter 1. In the words of Steve Hall and Simon Winlow (2012) (also contributors to this handbook), Reiner’s work is “an important and – given the turmoil caused by the current global crisis in the capitalist economy – very timely call to criminologists to return to political economy in analyses of crime, policing, and punishment” (p. 10). Unfortunately, political economy has been ignored in the last three decades by a number of intellectual, cultural, and political transitions described in Chapter 1 and in some of Reiner’s other writings.² We want to help return it to the forefront and that is another reason why it appears in this anthology.

The 1987 American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference in Montreal was an exciting event for progressive scholars. The aforementioned four directions in critical criminology were emerging and a large, vibrant cohort of young intellectuals made historical advances at this gathering by offering new ways of thinking critically about crime, law, and social control.³ It was there that Walter DeKeseredy and Martin Schwartz first met and ever since they have coauthored articles and book chapters on left realism. Chapter 2 features their latest contribution, one that provides a “new look” at left realist contributions.

Steve Hall and Simon Winlow are, according to Steve Redhead (2015), “outriders of a radically different political economy of our era” (p. 21), and they assert that “critical criminology must avoid political pragmatism and adopt a more critical stance toward consumer culture’s spectacle” (Winlow & Hall, 2016, p. 80). To do this, they contend, criminology must move beyond left realism and critical realism and develop the new ultra-realist perspective they offer in Chapter 3.

Ultra-realism is one of the newest directions in critical criminological theory and the same can be said about southern criminology, a perspective articulated by Kerry Carrington, Russell Hogg, and Máximo Sozzo in Chapter 4. Drawing on the work of Connell (2007), these theorists challenge criminology’s Northern colonialism and to quote rural criminologist Joseph F. Donnermeyer (2017), they offer a perspective that is “more capable of considering, both theoretically and empirically, crime and justice in the global South” (p. 121).

Claire Renzetti and Kerry Carrington have at least one thing in common – they are both feminists. In Chapter 5, Renzetti outlines major contemporary feminist theoretical developments and reminds us that feminism is more than a set of theories. It is also a social movement informed by theoretical frameworks with the goal of eliminating sexism and promoting gender inequality in all aspects of social life. Readers unfamiliar with feminist inquiry will soon discover that there is no single feminist school of thought. In fact, there are at least 12 variants of feminist criminological theory, but it is impossible to cover them all in one short chapter.

Attention to gender in criminology is on the increase due to the efforts of scholars such as Renzetti and Carrington. Like feminist theorists, masculinities scholars put gender at the forefront of their analyses. Pointed out in Chapter 6 by James Messerschmidt and Stephen Tomsen, there are various types of masculinities and there is no simple standard of being a man that guides all male behavior. For many men, crime and violence are viable techniques for performing and validating masculinity. Yet, masculinities scholars observe that the decision to commit certain crimes is affected by class and race relations that structure the resources available to accomplish masculine identity (Messerschmidt, 2005).

The bulk of criminology is heteronormative and ignores the realities of the Queer experience. Hence, the need for Queer criminology, which is examined by Carrie Buist, Emily Lenning, and Matthew Ball in Chapter 7. A recent development in critical criminology, Queer criminology is, as defined by two of its founders, Buist and Lenning (2016):

a theoretical and practical approach that seeks to highlight and draw attention to the stigmatization, the criminalization, and in many ways the rejection of the Queer community, which is to say the LGBTQ (lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) population, as both victims and offenders, by academe and the criminal justice system.

(p. 1)

Cultural criminology was born in the mid-1990s (Ferrell, 1994, 1995; Ferrell & Sanders, 1995). In Chapter 8, Stephen Muzzatti and Emma M. Smith trace cultural criminology’s history and its intellectual roots. They also outline some new directions in what they refer to as an “Anglo-American fusion.” However, cultural criminological work is not only done in the United Kingdom and the United States. It attracts an international cadre of progressive thinkers and Canadian scholars Stephen Muzzatti and Emma M. Smith are prime examples.

While U.S. President Donald Trump launches major assaults on environmental regulations and moves to open public lands to private exploitation, the world is experiencing a myriad of environmental harms. Green cultural criminologists Avi Brisman and Nigel South (2013) note that, “For too long, criminology stood on the sideline, leaving the study of environmental crime, harm, law, and regulations to researchers in other fields” (p. 2). Things have definitely changed as described in Chapter 9 by Rob White and in Chapter 10 by Brisman and South. There is now so much critical work being done on green issues that South and Brisman (2013) put together the Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology.

Prisoners and ex-convicts have long been the subjects of criminological examination. Nonetheless, most of the research and theoretical work on these groups is done by criminologists who have little contact with the criminal justice system. Convict criminology involves the use of ethnographic studies of the prison experience to “tell it like it is” (Ross & Richards, 2003, p. 9). The authors of Chapter 11 (Stephen C. Richards, Jeffrey Ian Ross, Greg Newbold, Michael Lenza, and Robert S. Grigsby) belong to a group that includes academic criminologists who have served time in correctional facilities, as well as some progressive scholars who have not been officially designated as criminal or deviant. Given their first-hand experiences with penal institutions, these scholars and other convict criminologists are among a large group of progressives who point to the destructive nature of prisons and their inability to promote peace, reduce crime, and foster social justice.

Cultural criminology is influenced, in part, by postmodern criminology, which Dragan Milovanovic examines in Chapter 12. With origins mainly in France and Germany, postmodern thought has had a major impact on many academics, especially those based in university English departments and who specialize in literary criticism (DeKeseredy, 2011). However, it was not until the late 1980s that postmodernism began to influence a number of critical criminologists (Henry & Milovanovic, 2005). Milovanovic is exceptionally well published in this area, and he is “a top spokesman” for this way of thinking critically about crime, law, and social justice (Schwartz & Hatty, 2003).

We hasten to mention that the theory chapters selected for this section of the handbook are not superior to those absent from this anthology, and the order in which they appear does not reflect a hierarchy of importance. Given the proliferation of handbooks produced by Routledge and other publishing companies, we know that newer books will cover the equally important critical criminological theoretical terrain not explored here.

In the first edition of this handbook, Godfrey (2012) states, “It is . . . important that historians also ensure that the discipline does not become overly preoccupied with academic concerns to the disadvantage of community politics” (p. 218). Godfrey’s recommendations should be taken seriously by all critical criminologists, especially those based in the U.S. Consider the neo-liberal laws and policies proposed by the Trump administration at the time of writing this chapter in spring 2017. Some were briefly discussed in the introduction to this handbook and they are hurtful outcomes of what Currie (2016) calls “capitalism with the lid off” or “hit the fan” capitalism (p. 10).

Academic theorizing is important, but it is essential that progressives heed Currie’s (2010) warning, regardless of which critical school of thought informs our analyses of social problems:

We can’t afford . . . to simply let the pathologies of neoliberal social policy take their course and grumble impotently from the sidelines. We need to be confident that we indeed have something to say and can offer a way forward where others have patently failed. And we need to both get better at defining that way forward and convincing others that it’s the right one.

(p. 124)

Many readers may wonder why we have ended this introduction to Part I of this handbook on such a negative note. It is not our intent to depress people or to discourage them from developing new theoretical directions in critical criminology. Rather, we want to celebrate the intellectual achievements of our colleagues while reminding progressives to always be vigilant of the need to engage in practical political struggles and attempts to undermine the importance of critical criminology. On top of doing theoretical work that meets the highest disciplinary standards, useful alternatives to conservative modes of governance and social control should also be provided because “critical discourse divorced from critical practice degenerates into mere literary criticism, the value of which is a purely scholastic question ” (Currie, DeKeseredy & MacLean, 1990, p. 50, emphasis in original).

Notes

1 This introduction to Part I includes modified sections of work published previously by DeKeseredy (2011) and DeKeseredy and Dragiewicz (2012, 2014).

2 See, for example, his (2007/2008, 2012) offerings.

3 MacLean and Milovanovic’s (1991) collection of readings New Directions in Critical Criminology includes chapters written by some of the young scholars who attended the 1987 ASC conference and who helped create the ASC’s Division on Critical Criminology.

References

Brisman, A. & South, N. (2013). Introduction: Horizons, issues and relationships in green criminology. In N. South & A. Brisman (Eds), Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology (pp. 1–23). London: Routledge.

Buist, C.L. & Lenning, E. (2016). Queer Criminology. London: Routledge.

Carlen, P. (2007/2008). Editorial: Politics, economy and crime. Criminal Justice Matters, 70, 3–4.

Connell, R. (2007). Southern Theory: The Global Dynamics of Knowledge in Social Science. Sydney, AU: Allen & Unwin.

Currie, D.H., DeKeseredy, W.S., & MacLean, B.D. (1990). Reconstituting social order and social control: Police accountability in Canada. Journal of Human Justice, 2, 29–54.

Currie, E. (2010). Plain left realism: An appreciation and some thoughts for the future. Crime, Law and Social Change, 54, 111–124.

Currie, E. (2016). The violence divide: Taking “ordinary” crime seriously in a volatile world. In R. Matthews (Ed.), What is to be Done About Crime and Punishment? Towards a ‘ Public Criminology ’ (pp. 9–30). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

DeKeseredy, W.S. (2011). Contemporary Critical Criminology. London: Routledge.

DeKeseredy, W.S. & Dragiewicz, M. (2012). Part II: Theoretical perspectives. In W. S. DeKeseredy & M. Dragiewicz (Eds), Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology (pp. 87–92). London: Routledge.

DeKeseredy, W.S. & Dragiewicz, M. (2014). Introduction: Advances in critical criminology theorizing. In W.S. DeKeseredy & M. Dragiewicz (Eds), Critical Criminology, Volume 2 (pp. 1–12). London: Routledge.

Donnermeyer, J.F. (2017). The place of rural in southern criminology. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 6, 120–134.

Ferrell, J. (1994). Confronting the agenda of authority: Critical criminology, anarchism and urban graffiti. In G. Barak (Ed.), Varieties of Criminology (pp. 161–178). New York: Praeger.

Ferrell, J. (1995). Culture, crime and cultural criminology. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 3, 25–42.

Ferrell, J. & Sanders, C. (Eds) (1995). Cultural Criminology. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Godfrey, B. (2012). Critical perspectives on crime. In W. S. DeKeseredy & M. Dragiewicz (Eds), Routledge Handbook of Critical Criminology (pp. 209–221). London: Routledge.

Hall, S. & Winlow, S. (2012). Introduction: The need for new directions in criminological theory. In S. Hall & S. Winlow (Eds), New Directions in Criminological Theory (pp. 1–13). London: Routledge.

Henry, S. & Milovanovic,...