Cultural Criminology

Question 1

What is cultural criminology?

Answer 1

its opposed to the mainstream criminology, it uses qualitative methods and looks at the process of crime.

Question 2

Symbolic interactionism

Answer 2

looks at the symbolic meaning that people acquire through interactions. E.g. The way we perceive the burka.

Question 3

Crime in subcultures

Answer 3

Subcultures create meaning through interactions that are only known to them.
This is where you have to look at the symbolic meaning for objects like guns.

Question 4

Drift theory

Answer 4

People drift in and out of deviance.

there are rules in about who should not be victimised e.g. gangs won’t harm children.

Question 5

The theory of edgework

Answer 5

This is the idea that crime can be fun.
The state allows you to celebrate deviance for a time period. e.g. carnivals.
Crime provides a thrill and excitement.

Question 6

The process of criminalisation

Answer 6

The media over-represent violent crime.
the media creates the bigger problem of crime.
Labelling and moral panic creates the idea of the idea.

Question 7

Criticism of cultural criminology

Answer 7

Lacks focus on audience interpretation
Strongly associated with the West
Underplays fears
Doesn’t provide any explanations as to how we can fix things.

Question 8

Media as representation

Answer 8

The mass media contributes our understanding of crime.
they provide highly emotive stories of suffering, to create what is known as the hall of mirrors (the distortion of news which it seeks to report).