Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Narrative Criminology is a comparatively recent criminological approach that focuses on the stories about crime people tell themselves and others in order to explain, justify, or even make possible their (deviant) behavior. Rather than centering on the objective act itself, Narrative Criminology emphasizes its subjective interpretation and meaning. Crime is understood as a narrative construction
Symbolic interactionism is a micro-sociological paradigm that understands social reality as the outcome of symbolically mediated processes of interaction. Society does not primarily emerge from supra-individual structures or functional systems, but from the meaning-making activities of actors in everyday life. At the center lies the guiding question: How does social reality emerge through interaction? The
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
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
The Politics of Abolition (1974) by Thomas Mathiesen is one of the most influential works in penal abolitionism and critical criminology. In a radical departure from traditional theories of punishment, Mathiesen advocates not for alternative forms of punishment, but for the abolition of the prison system altogether—calling into question the legitimacy of the entire penal
Social and Academic Context Emerging during a period of massive societal upheaval—including civil rights movements, anti-colonial struggles, and student protests—The New Criminology reflects the desire for a sociology that not only explains but also transforms the world. The authors take a clear stance against the dominant American sociology of the 1960s and advocate for a