Cultural Criminology: An Invitation [Paperback]

This is not just a book on the present state and possible prospects of our understanding of crime, criminals and our responses to both. However greatly the professional criminologists might benefit from the authors' illuminating insights and the new cognitive vistas their investigations have opened, the impact of this book may well stretch far beyond the realm of criminology proper and mark a watershed in the progress of social study as such. This book, after all, brings into the open the irremediable unclarity, endemic contentiousness and the resulting frailty of the line dividing deviance from the norm of social life - that line being simultaneously a weapon and the prime stake in the construction and servicing of social order. Professor Zygmaut Bauman

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Cultural criminology has been written about and discussed at length in criminology circles over the last five years -- including by the well-known trio of Ferrell, Hayward and Young -- but this is their best work to date on this fascinating approach and its significance. Beautifully written and superbly conceived, with illustrations and examples that combine theory and practice across a range of disciplines, Cultural Criminology should be read by anyone - academics and smart readers alike - interested in crime, media, culture and social theory. Bravo to Ferrell, Hayward and Young on a tour de force that is at once cool and classic! Cultural Criminology will influence the field for a very long time to come. Professor Lynn Chancer, Hunter College and the Graduate Centre

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An invitation indeed. The cultural criminology project described by Jeff Ferrell, Keith Hayward and Jock Young in this remarkable book will surely inspire many students of crime and crime control to accept their invitation and join the movement. The book comes at precisely the right time, as a powerful synthesis of a set of ideas, research practices, and political sentiments that have energized an expanding network of criminological researchers during the last two decades...no one can fail to be impressed by the skill and energy they have brought to this effort. With their remarkable grasp of the intricate details of contemporary cultural life and a narrative style that expresses the distinctive energy and flow of the late modern era, the book's authors demonstrate cultural criminology's purchase on the world of crime and transgression in the 21st century... this book represents by far the most comprehensive examination of this emerging criminological perspective...a key text in the development of cultural criminology. Stephen Lyng Carthage College, USA

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Cultural criminology is still developing and this book, and the work that has developed in the cultural criminology tradition, has reenergised criminology and brought the offender back into the picture. This picture is vivid, energetic and passionate. Craig Webber University of Southampton, UK

Lively, innovative, engaging, and accessible, Cultural Criminology draws together the work of three of the leading international figures in the field today. The book traces the history, current configuration, methodological innovations and future trajectories of cultural criminology, mapping its terrain for students and academics interested in this exciting field. The book highlights and analyzes issues of representation, meaning, and politics in relation to crime and criminal justice, covering areas such as crime and the media, everyday life and everyday transgression, popular culture, consumerism, globalization, and social control.