symbolic interactionism
micro-level, relativist perspective focused on individuals and meanings attached to objects, people, and interactions (direct observation of the social world as it is experienced and understood by the individuals in it)
labeling theorists examine
social meaning of deviant labels, how those labels are understood, and how they impact the individuals to which they are applied
Franklin Tannenbaum's (1983) labeling theory
- police contact may turn relatively common acts of juvenile delinquency as "dramatization of evil"
- labels the acts individuals are involved in as negative and societal reaction leads to further deviant acts
Edwin Lemert's (1951) social pathology
- primary deviance: common violations of norms, don't view selves as being involved in a deviant social role; instances of deviance v. chronic deviance
- secondary deviance- engage in deviant behavior as a means of defense, attack or adjustment to the pro
Chambliss's "The Roughnecks and the Saints
can be labeled during deviancy, despite instance (v. chronic)
- the impact of labels and how difficult it can be for those with less power to resist them; seriousness of crime and consequentiality; acceptance of labels
how the labeling process works
deviance -> reaction -> role engulfment -> secondary deviance (not as direct as this)
3 ways labeling = secondary deviance
1) altering an individual's self-concept
2) limiting conforming opportunities
3) encouraging involvement in a deviant subculture
master status
- a status that proves to be more important than most others
- deviant master status shapes the perception and behaviors of those around you
Scheff (1966)
mental illness begins with primary deviance called residual rule breaking
residual rule breaking
deviance in which no clear category exists
- draws attention & makes societal audience uncomfortable, not crime
- (inappropriate dress, conversation, or interactions)
Hirschfield (2008)
macro-level context of severely disadvantaged neighborhoods, being arrested carries little stigma; more concern with informal labels by family and friends
John Braithwaite's (1989)- Crime, Shame, and Reintegration
- lower crime rates if effective communications about shame of crime
- integrative shaming: viewed as a good person who has done a bad deed
- stigmatization: labels the offender a bad person; unforgiving
- labeling makes things worse when it is stigmatizi
Ross Matsueda (1992)- Reflected Appraisals, Parental Labeling, and Delinquency
- labeling and the reflected appraisals of others can create a delinquent "self"
- leads labeled adolescents further into deviant behavior
- appraisals of self strongly influenced by their parents' appraisals of events operating through labeling
Rosenfeld (1997), Labeling Mental Illness
- stigma attached to mental illness is a serious problem
- following stigma is an exercise of various discrimination
- compared receipt of treatment and services v. the perception of stigma on the quality of life for people with chronic mental illness
- p
Deinstitutionalization of Department of Youth Services (MA)
- addressed conditions of juvenile correctional facilities
- closed secure reform schools and moved to a system of alternative community treatment and placements for youth
Edwin Schur (1973)
argued nonintervention of young offenders
- radical nonintervention- "leave the kids alone wherever possible
criticisms of labeling theory
- it is focused on the process of constructing deviancy, not the individual
- how and under what circumstances the individual is judged as deviant
- what impact that judgement may have on his or her self-concept, relationships, opportunities, and life cha
Does Becker like the expression "labeling theory?
NO- does not focus on label part- prefers it being called more of an "interactionist theory of deviance
Marxists
political economy & the capitalist system; power and conflict
- revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system
conflict theory
power beyond a singular focus on the capitalist system
- reforms rather than revolutionary overthrow
Karl Marx
- communist manifesto
- works influenced communication studies, economics, political science, criminology, sociology
- capitalist system creates conflict, inequality, and power differentials
- "ruling class" keeps workforces divided, thus more easily cont
Turk (2002)
- argues capitalist conflict is diversionary
- designed to keep "workers" focused on issues promoting division, competition, and othering
Marx's idea of Dialectical Materialism
-reality existed in the material world; meaning or reality separate from the meaning that individuals gave it
- dialectic: negotiation of contradictions
- society is full of contradictions, negotiating contradictions creates new material reality
Marxism and deviance
- capitalist power results of ability to control means of production and communication
- false consciousness and failure to acknowledge oppression and exploitation
(leads to manipulation of group by labeling behaviors or groups that are dangerous to capit
Instrumental Marxism & the Law
- state (or criminal justice system) is an instrument/tool for the capitalists to control the poor and impose their standards of behavior on the rest of the society
- marx lacked specific definition of the law, discussed how law used to maintain the statu
structural marxism & the law
- law is less about maintaining power and benefits for the ruling class
- law maintains interests of the capitalist system (or structure- hence structural)
- believes that the law is not always working for the rich and against the poor
- law is designed t
Steven Spitzer & Marxian Theories
- capitalism changing to advanced (or monopoly) capitalism
- change increased the likelihood of "problem populations
monopoly capitalism (Spitzer)
as capitalism advanced, it would become more efficient and increased education levels
social junk (Spitzer)
unneeded laborers
social dynamite (Spitzer)
those critical of the system
problem populations (Spitzer)
social junk & social dynamite
- need to be controlled through criminalization (Creating laws focused on their status or behaviors)
conspicuous consumption (Spitzer)
capitalism only survives if individuals in the capitalist society consume as much as possible
Gusfield- Conflict Theories
- conflict theories think conflict is more than just the bourgeoisie and proletariat
- law has 2 functions: instrumental and symbolic
- instrumental function- law is proscribed; tells individuals what actions they can and cannot engage in; agents of the l
Conflict Theories- Kitsuse & Spector
importance of value judgements
- focus on how deviance is defined
- argue deviance arises when groups say an act or issue is deviant
- whether or not it's taken up by society depends on making assertion and how strongly claims are made
- a group is succes
Vold- conflict theories
Theoretical Criminology- process individuals become a part of a particular group, development of relationships within and among groups
- the creation and maintenance of "The Group"
- society is a constant interaction of groups
- conflict rises when groups
Turk- Conflict Theories
Use of Law as a Social Control Agent
- law is a resource groups struggle to control
- control over law provides power to criminalize those less powerful
Turk- 5 types of resource control (beyond economic)
1) control the means of direct physical violence (war or police power)
2) control of production, allocation, and/or use of material resources
3) control of decision making processes
4) control of definitions of and access to knowledge, beliefs, values
5)
conflict theories- quinney
social reality of crime
- explanation for the social construction of crime
- similar to marx's dialectical materialism
- process of construction
- social relationships (understanding the world) is a process
- understanding changes as the process evolves
-
Quinney's six propositions lead to the following conclusion
proposition (the social reality of crime): the social reality of crime is constructed by formulation and application of criminal definitions, the development of behavior patterns related to criminal definitions, and the construction of criminal conception
conflict theories- chambliss
Toward a Political Economy of Crime
- everyone is deviant, meaningless to ask why some are/are not deviant
- his work focused on corrupt behavior and policies of "the state" (police, bureaucrats, politicians)
- chambliss argues the following importance of
criticisms of marxism & conflict theory
1. dismissing social consensus ignores some laws actually protect the interests of everyone
response- or is chance in which laws protect or don't and differential enforcement
2. conflict theory does not identify how power is established
payne and welch (2010)
studied discipline practices of 294 public schools
- schools mirroring get-tough policies although delinquency is decreasing
- schools in disadvantaged, urban locations with disproportionate racial populations
- more likely to use punitive forms of discip
summary of marxist/conflict theories
- relativist (or social constructionist) perspective on deviance
- question how deviance is defined and used to maintain positions of power
- examine impacts of capitalism on power, group structure, and group conflict
reading 27
the spawn of slavery
the convict lease system
web du bois
- how blacks and whites were dealt with by the cj system
- pre civil war blacks wee owned property
- post civil war whites thought blacks would not work
- cj system developed vagrancy laws, and man
convict lease system
blacks charged with vagrancy and then sold to highest bidder, terrible working conditions, lots of money made
reading 28
racial profiling by store clerks and security personnel in retail establishments
shopping while black
driving while black
more likely to get stopped
more likely to be followed
hard to prove
Intersectionality
the intersections of forms of oppression or systems of domination, or discrimination
-like layers that weigh people down
- first used by feminists of color
Peacemaking Theories
- argues most of criminology is war-like -> advocates war on crime
- us vs them philosophy
- advocating punishment to stop crime
- alternative lens of compassion, sympathy, and understanding
3 areas of peacemaking criminology
1) religious- crime as members of the religious community who need understanding
2) feminist- humanity approach, women are placed at a disadvantage in patriarchal society
3. critical- societal power differences at intersections of gender, race, and class
Gregg Barak (1991) peacemaking and homelessness
- problematic view that homelessness is an individual problem or a deficits in character (they are lazy, like being homeless, are drug addicts, etc)
- characterization war-like and inhumane treatment
- result in public policies that make homelessness invi
Feminist criminology
emerged in 1960s-70s civil rights movements
liberal feminism
focuses on gender role socialization, women's roles not as valued
- they focus on equal rights and opportunities
- deviance: they think women have less opportunities to do deviance
Radical feminism
focuses on sexual control of women, social order dominated by men
- theoretical insights on sex, gender, and reproduction
- crime areas: DV, rape, sexual harassment, and pornography
socialist feminism
focuses on structural differences (especially capitalist modes of production)
- patriarchy and capitalism are oppressive forces for women
- patriarchy and class base system will need to be eliminated for equality
postmodern feminism
close to peacemaking criminology
- it questions the idea of a single truth
- they examine the social construction of accepted ideas about crime and deviance
critical race theory
explaining why the civil rights movement of the 1960s had stalled and why the advances in the 1960s and 1970s had come under attack
- examines the historical, structural, and political reification of white supremacy
- challenges idea of white supremacy an
main criticisms of critical theories
- they do not see the world the way other theories see the world
- idealistic, and doesn't offer explanations of operation, why criminals, etc
- lack of empirical validity
feminist criminology criticism
reductionist
critical race theory criticism
playing the race card