Case, Johnson, Manlow et al, Criminology, chapter fourteen (Those students following the material in this textbook will have already read this chapter for the previous week) and chapter twenty-three.
Chapter Seventeen of Newburn will be available on aspire. All Students—even those usually reading Case and Johnson—will need to read this
Essential Reading
E. Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method, translated by Sarah A. Solovay and John H. Mueller and edited by George E.G. Caitlin (New York: The Free Press), 1985/1964, pp. 65-73
M.R. Gottfredson and T. Hirschi, A General Theory of Crime, (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press), 1990, pp. 87-91
J.Young, The Exclusive Society, (London: Sage), 1999, pp. 68-77
Nils Christie, Crime Control as Industry 826-827
Recommended Additional Reading
Tim Newburn, Key Readings in Criminology, chapter eight, chapter eleven and chapter sixteen
Questions to think about:
Section A – Durkheim, anomie and strain
1. What does Durkheim mean when he calls crime ‘normal’?
2. What does ‘anomie’ mean? What does ‘strain’ mean?
3. What are the problems with Durkheim’s ‘anomie’ theory?
4. What are the problems associated with ‘strain’ theory?
Section B – Control Theories
1. What are the ‘control theories’? What do they have in common?
2. Why is the question ‘Why don’t we commit crime’ more important for the control theorist than the question ‘why do we commit crime’?
3. In what ways is self-control related to criminal activity?
4. How persuasive do you find control theories as an explanation of crime?
