Critical Criminology

- labelling theory- as well as bits and pieces of other good theories

- that critical theories comprise of both structuralist and post-modern approaches- there are fundamental differences between these perspectives and others that examine capitalist exploitation and oppression

- feminist and Marxist knowledge

- rapid change- Ex. technological innovation (technological experts rising - we no longer live in a proletariat/bourgeoise society)- Ex. concentration of wealth (concentration is higher in the US)

- Structuralism: Order and straightforward/organizeD- Postmodernism: Chaos and unorganized

- examine the structure of exploitation and oppression- like Marxists, they maintain that capitalism is criminogenic - the exploitation of social groups includes the negative effects of labelling- oppression is experienced on the basis of: sex, race/ethnicity and social class

- Taylor, Walton, and Young's "The New Criminology" were devoted to female crime- Structural critical criminologists believe that women are more vulnerable to state oppression- women's work is less vulnerable, but women's crime is more fraudulent (causes an increase of property crime)- capitalism and patriarchy = controlling and oppressing women - women are more likely to be subject to comestic violence- Ex. girl gangs with pink glocks trying to convert people into lesbians- prisons for women are punitive -> there are high suicide rates, it was more for keeping them away than rehabilitating them

- the CJS is racialized - instead of taking drunk people to jail, they drive them to the outskirts and make them walk home (as a form of punishment - allows them to cool off and sober up)- higher rates of intersection (to generate higher probabilities of being sanctioned by the CJS)

- state definitions of crime largely revolve around street crime rather than corporate or white-collar crime- Samuelson: white-collar crime is more costly in financial and physical terms than is street crime (ex. Ford Pinto case)

- a central fixture of the critical perspective - stresses the meaning of language - where language is also affected by your particular perspective

- meaning of words - social difference (social construction of other)- discourse analysis (uncovering the meanings/origins of words)- Deconstruction (of the meanings of words)

1960s

- produced through material terms (inequality/social reality)- means that means, social groups are deprived in real terms - poverty is an objective reality

Post modernists

- most well post-modernist- gender inequalities are preserved in the future- socially constructed - opposite from Marx- that we have socially constructed stories and they live their life based on that- we ARE able to continue with femininity