Summary
Contents
Subject index
Steve Hall uses cutting-edge philosophy and social theory to analyse patterns of crime and harm and illuminate contemporary criminological issues. He provides a fresh, relevant critique of the philosophical and political underpinnings of criminological theory and the theoretical canon's development during the twentieth century, and applies new Continental philosophy to the criminological problem.
Unmatched in its sophistication yet written in a clear, accessible style, this dynamic and highly engaging book is essential reading for all students, researchers and academics working in criminology, sociology, social policy, politics and the social sciences in general.
Social Theory and Criminology: The Underlying Liberal Narrative
Social Theory and Criminology: The Underlying Liberal Narrative
How do we begin to theorize the vast and complex diffusionary process roughly sketched out in the two previous chapters? The better student textbooks present the development of criminological theories not simply as a self-contained process driven by its own internal momentum but as a process embedded in shifting historical, political and philosophical contexts. Valier's (2002) point that theories of crime do not come from ‘nowhere’ but relate to changing social orders is true enough, but it tells us little about the actual power struggles within social orders, which theories dominate and why, and whose interests they serve. Earlier theories cannot be regarded as obsolete and casually discarded (ibid.) and ...
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