Cultural Criminology Flashcards
(29 cards)
How were subcultures viewed in relation to social order?
Subcultures were seen as forms of resistance or rebellion against social order.
What shift occurred in the study of culture during the development of cultural criminology?
A shift from studying ‘high culture’ (opera, ballet, theatre) to mass culture (popular music, television, advertising)
What centre influenced cultural criminology?
The Birmingham Centre For Contemporary Cultural Studies
What was the Birmingham Centre For Contemporary Cultural Studies focus?
explored how culture and marginalisation affect identity
What is the focus of cultural criminology regarding societal power dynamics?
interested in how groups challenged powerful dominant groups within society and how they formed their own identity
What is culture?
- Culture = shared meanings, symbols, and human activity.
what were the changes to the criminal justice system?
- CJ system expanded, with more spending on control (e.g. CCTV, prisons).
- Rise of ‘tough on crime’ policies (e.g. war on -drugs/terror).
- Criminology shifted to positivism, less focus on theory.
- Growth of administrative criminology (Hayward & Young, 2004).
What key questions does cultural criminology ask?
- asks why some actions are perceived as wrong and deviant
- how crime is presented in media, and the effects of these presentations.
What is the concept of ‘outsiders’ in the context of moral panics?
‘Outsiders’ are groups that moral panics typically target, as described by Becker in 1963.
What does Becker’s perspective on deviance suggest?
Deviance is not a quality of the act itself but a consequence of the application of rules and sanctions by society, labeling certain individuals as outsiders.
What is a moral panic?
a societal condition where a person or group is defined as a threat to societal values, often presented in a stylized and stereotypical manner by the media.
What are the stages of moral panic according to Cohen?
- Act defined as deviant draws public attention. 2. The act is associated with a group (folk devils). 3. The cause is simplified.
- Media uses derogatory language.
- Calls for action arise.
- Government responds punitively.
- Group becomes alienated.
- This reinforces group bonds and leads to more deviance.
- More deviance leads to further punishments.
What incident is an example of moral panic?
The Mods and Rockers
two groups involved in fighting during a bank holiday, which was exaggerated by the media.
How does the media cause moral panics? 3 steps
Exaggeration – Media overstated violence and numbers.
Prediction – started predicting that these events would happen again and be worse.
Symbolisation – Styles (clothes, hair, bikes) portrayed as deviant.
What was the book Policing the Crisis (Hall et al., 1978) focused on?
The book focuses on the social causes of mugging and, more importantly, why British society reacted to mugging in an extreme way during the early 1970s.
What was the significance of the event on August 15, 1972, in relation to mugging?
Arthur Hills was stabbed to death near Waterloo Station, marking the first time a specific crime in Britain was labeled a mugging in the press.
How did the judiciary respond to mugging during the time period examined in Policing the Crisis?
The judiciary declared war on muggers, treating it as a new crime despite it being a form of violent robbery that had existed before.
What role did the media play in shaping public perception of mugging?
Media coverage exaggerated the seriousness of mugging, used sensationalized headlines, and predicted that similar events would occur again.
What narrative was constructed regarding crime rates and sentencing practices during the mugging crisis?
A narrative was constructed that linked rapid increases in crime to ‘soft’ sentencing measures, creating a perceived need for ‘tough’ deterrence measures.
What was the economic context in Britain during the crisis of capitalism in the 1970s?
There was an economic recession, rising unemployment, civil unrest, and mass strikes.
How did the government respond to the crisis in capitalism during the 1970s?
They needed to divert attention from the economic situation to show they were doing something useful. -hence the crack down on justice
What is the main focus of Jack Katz’s ‘Seductions of Crime’ (1988)?
- Crime isn’t just about social background — it’s also about emotions and thrill.
- argues people commit crime for pleasure, excitement, or moral feelings like vengeance or righteousness.
- Criminology should focus more on these emotional motives (the foreground), not just class or race (the background).
What is the focus of Ferrell’s ‘Crimes of Style’ (1996)?
- ethnographic account on hip-hop graffiti in Denver (Syndicate crew).
- Graffiti = subcultural resistance and illicit creativity.
- Adrenaline rush and communication through tagging and pieces
What did Lynn introduce and what did it mean?
the concept of edge work -Voluntary risk-taking behaviour that seeks thrill and excitement.
