Criminology: A Sociological Understanding - Tapa dura

For courses in Criminology, Sociology of Crime, Crime and Criminal Justice, or any course focusing on sociological influences on crime. This book provides a sociological perspective on crime and criminal justice by treating social structure and social inequality as central themes in the study of crime-and major factors in society's treatment of criminals. It gives explicit attention to key sociological concepts such as poverty, gender, race, and ethnicity, and demonstrates their influence on crime. An accessible writing style allows students to reach their own informed judgements about why crime occurs and how society can best address this problem.

STEVEN E. BARKAN is professor of sociology at the University of Maine, where he has taught since 1979. His teaching and research interests include criminology, sociology of law, and social movements. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and had previously served as chair of the Society's Law and Society Division and an advisory editor of its journal Social Problems. His previous books include Protesters on Trial: Criminal Justice in the Southern Civil Rights and Vietnam Antiwar Movements; Collective Violence (with Lynne Snowden); and Discovering Sociology: An Introduction Using ExplorIt. He has also written many journal articles dealing with topics such as death penalty attitudes, views on police brutality, political trials, and feminist activism. These articles have appeared in the American Sociological Review; Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency; Justice Quarterly; Social Forces; Social Problems; Sociological Forum; Sociological Inquiry; and other journals.