Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Cultural Criminology is not a single, unified theory of crime, but rather a critical perspective and research tradition. Emerging in the 1990s, it examines crime and crime control as cultural practices, focusing on how meaning, symbolism, style, and representation shape criminal subcultures, law enforcement, media narratives, and social reactions. It draws heavily on Cultural Studies,
Delinquency and Drift by David Matza (1964) represents a landmark critique of both positivist criminology (e.g., Lombroso) and contemporary theories of juvenile delinquency like Cloward & Ohlin’s differential opportunity theory and Cohen’s subcultural theory. Matza challenges the behavioral determinism in these approaches and argues instead for a nuanced, interactionist understanding of delinquency as a temporary,
Feminist criminology emerged in the 1970s as a critical response to the male-dominated theories and practices of mainstream criminology. It challenged the neglect of women’s experiences both as offenders and as victims, criticizing criminological theories for treating male behavior as the norm and simply assuming that it applies to women. Feminist criminology also exposes the
Marxist Criminology represents a critical approach that views crime and criminal justice as products of social inequality and class conflict. Building on Marxist social theory, these perspectives argue that law and punishment serve the interests of the dominant class by maintaining existing power structures and controlling marginalized groups. Rather than seeing crime as the result