Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Jonathan Simon is an American criminologist and legal scholar known for his influential analyses of mass incarceration, governance through crime, and the transformation of penal policy in the United States. A professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, Simon has critically examined how fear of crime and security discourses have shaped political decision-making,
David Garland is a Scottish-American criminologist and sociologist renowned for his work on the sociology of punishment, crime control, and the modern state. He is Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Garland’s research has explored the historical and cultural contexts of penal systems, the rise of the culture of control
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
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian, and social theorist whose work profoundly influenced the humanities and social sciences. Known for his critical investigations into the relationship between knowledge and power, Foucault examined how institutions such as prisons, asylums, schools, and clinics structure human behavior and define normality. His historical method—termed genealogy—challenged traditional historiography by