Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Criminology is the scientific study of crime—but what counts as “crime” is neither fixed nor self-evident. The term criminology derives from the Latin crimen (accusation, offence) and the Greek logos (study or knowledge). At its most basic level, criminology is therefore the study of crime. Yet this seemingly simple definition raises a more fundamental question:
Serial murder fascinates, terrifies—and has dominated pop culture for years: Netflix documentaries like Monster: The Ed Gein Story or Dahmer break viewership records, while podcasts and true-crime formats attract millions. But beyond media sensationalism, what lies behind the phenomenon of serial killing? This article offers a criminological-sociological approach to one of the most extreme forms
Ten Blind Spots in Criminological Theory The quest for the “best” theory of crime is as old as the discipline itself. For more than 200 years, scholars have tried to explain why people break the law. But the more theories emerged, the clearer it became: no single theory fully explains crime. Many fall short, focus
Émile Durkheim’s The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) marks a milestone in establishing sociology as an autonomous, empirical discipline. While earlier approaches were often philosophical or speculative, Durkheim formulated the foundations for systematic research based on observable, verifiable data. The work remains central for understanding the scientific core of sociology and the role of objective
Women, Crime and Poverty (1988) is one of the most influential works of British criminologist Pat Carlen. Based on empirical research with women in the British criminal justice system, Carlen presents a groundbreaking feminist critique that links female criminality to structural poverty, social exclusion, and gender-specific forms of control. The book is considered a key
Women and Crime (1985) by British sociologist Frances Heidensohn is considered the founding text of modern feminist criminology. As one of the first scholars in the field, Heidensohn systematically analyzed why women had long been ignored, misrepresented, or solely portrayed as victims in criminology—and why existing theories of crime failed to account for the lived