“It Is the sensual, stupid”: Katz and the futures of criminology

Anna King, Shadd Maruna

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We discuss the contributions of Jack Katz to the field of criminology with a particular focus on his 1988 book, Seductions of Crime. This book emerged out of a time in American history when criminal justice policy was shaped in part by moral panic over the 1980s’ American crime wave. We argue that SOC’s pragmatic approach to phenomenology owes much to this historical context. The vision outlined in the book represents an ideal foundation on which to build a future criminology in tune with the direction of innovation in the field. In making this case, we review the core contributions of the work from our perspective. We then explore the complicated “politics” of Katz’s argument - defying easy labels of left and right, and discuss the significance of a growing divide between the opinions of lay persons and expert accounts of crime. The modes of inquiry that Katz reawakened with his analysis have many as of yet untapped riches to offer, not only to criminological theory but also to criminal justice reform. In particular, we argue that urgent contemporary trends toward “public criminology, " “convict criminology” both could find, in SOC, an ideal epistemological starting place.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationJack Katz. Seduction, the street and emotion
EditorsDavid Polizzi
PublisherEmerald Publishing
Chapter3
Pages25-39
Number of pages15
ISBN (Electronic)9781787560727
ISBN (Print)9781787560734
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© David Polizzi 2020.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology

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