Social Reality Of Crime Theory

The Social Reality of Crime

The Social Reality of Crime

Richard Quinney's The Social Reality of Crime remains an eloquent and important statement on crime, law, and justice. At the time of its appearance in 1970, Quinney's theory not only liberated the field from a recitation of the practices of the police, courts, and corrections, it also represented a marked departure from traditional analysis which viewed criminal behavior as pathological. Quinney not only advanced criminological thought, he inspired scores of students of crime and criminal justice to reorient their perceptions of the justice system.The Social Reality of Crime swept the criminological community and motivated an entire generation of researchers to question definitions of crime and labels of criminality. The book's popularity quickly turned Quinney into a criminologist with an international reputation. Excerpts from the book's first chapter, which is devoted to the theory of the social reality of crime, are now routinely reprinted in anthologies on criminology and deviant behavior. The theory itself is discussed in most criminology textbooks.This new edition of The Social Reality of Crime will renew inspiration for Quinney's unique critical-social constructionist perspective that has been so significant to the development of theoretical work in the fields of criminology, social problems, and the sociology of law.

Richard Quinney

This book traces the life course of Richard Quinney, one of the most cited authors in the social sciences and a key figure in the development of critical criminology in the 70s, 80s and 90s. It provides a look into his personal thoughts in becoming a 'radical' criminologist and situates it in his various experiences, questioning, and shifts in his journey through life. Richard has contributed to a profound paradigm shift in criminology, beginning with his book, The Social Reality of Crime (1970), but also to peacemaking criminology as well as peace studies. He has also written several books via an autoethnography approach and has presented a number of photograph presentations for which he has received awards. It traces his early development on the family farm in Wisconsin to his travels in higher academe. It gives a personal perspective in becoming not only a radical criminologist, an accomplished writer in auto-ethnography, visual sociology, and photography but also how his continuous questioning of the meaning of it all came to fruition with profound insights about what it is to be human. The book will be inspirational to not only seasoned veterans in criminology, but also to emerging scholars, to undergrads and grads, showing them the struggles that come in 'making it'.