Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Bernard E. Harcourt is an American legal scholar, criminologist, and critical theorist, known for his influential work on punishment, surveillance, and the politics of security. He serves as the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and has written extensively on the interplay between neoliberalism, mass incarceration,
Alessandro De Giorgi is an Italian-born criminologist and critical social theorist whose work focuses on the intersections of punishment, migration, and neoliberal governance. Currently based in the United States, De Giorgi’s research examines how economic restructuring, global inequality, and intensified border regimes shape the contemporary penal landscape. He is known for combining empirical research with
Thomas Mathiesen (1933–2021) was a Norwegian sociologist and one of the most influential figures in the field of critical criminology and penal abolitionism. Deeply engaged in the critique of modern penal systems, Mathiesen developed a unique theoretical framework that questioned the legitimacy and function of prisons in democratic societies. His seminal work The Politics of
Stuart Hall (1932–2014) was a Jamaican-born British cultural theorist and sociologist who played a key role in the development of cultural studies and critical criminology. As a founding member of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS), Hall profoundly influenced the study of ideology, race, media, and power in modern societies. His work bridged
Richard Quinney (b. 1934) is an American criminologist, sociologist, and philosopher whose work has profoundly shaped the development of critical criminology. He became widely known through his thesis of the social reality of crime (1970), in which he argued that crime is not an objective phenomenon but socially constructed through processes of labeling, political interests, and
Paul Walton was a British sociologist and criminologist, best known for his collaboration on The New Criminology and his work in media and cultural studies. A prominent figure in the field of critical criminology, Walton was also a co-author of the influential study Policing the Crisis, which analyzed moral panics and media representations of crime