SOC - Postmodernism & Crime Flashcards
Postmodernism
- an analysis of the social and cultural features of late capitalism (post-modernity).
- Postmodernists generally critique older theories, saying that they are no longer relevant.
Foucault
Surveillance and Social Control
Surveillance and Social Control
- Surveillance is invading private life more than ever.
- Social control was previously exercised physically – through public executions and fear through religious institutions.
In postmodern times, discipline became more subtle
How has discipline become more subtle? (foucault)
- through agencies of social control
- through policing the minds of the public
- In postmodern society people are more individual so policing them can be harder – why we are encouraged to police ourselves and internalise bad behaviour.
Henry & Milovanovic
- that the notion of crime should be reassessed because it no longer applies.
- Current definitions are created by a narrow sector of society which makes much of it irrelevant to most people.
- They argue we should consider social harm when defining crime.
Types of Social Harm (Henry and Milovanovic)
- Harms of Repression
2. Harms of Reduction
Harms of Repression
when people cannot develop themselves due to being restricted by those in power. EG hate crime, sexual abuse, green crime
Harms of Reduction
when someone experiences loss or injury, by someone else exercising power EG hit & run
Winlow
Do men commit crime to express masculinity?
Winlow’s theory on masculinity
- due to the decline in manual jobs, men now find it more difficult to express masculinity through their job.
- Due to a shift in society, more jobs are available in leisure industries, meaning men who would’ve had manual jobs may not take these roles.
- men take jobs like bouncers to express masculinity through violence and drug dealing.
Beck
Global Risk Society
Global Risk Society
- the media is a central part of postmodern society.
- the media preys on people’s fears and tries to make them conscious of ‘risks’ to their way of life. EG people may fear losing their job or paying higher tax.
- The media creates a ‘hate-figure’ such as ‘immigrants’ to make people fear them instead of the system. This can cause hate crime, which the media can write about and sell more papers
Foucault Evaluation
May be helpful but they don’t offer much more in terms of explaining crime than realist ideas. His Panopticon prison has never been created and therefore we have no proof it would even work. However it can explain why surveillance techniques have become so widespread.
Beck Evaluation
When reporting against certain groups increases, so does hate crime against those groups. This could demonstrate that Beck’s theory is correct
Henry & Milovanovic Evaluation
Doesn’t explain why only some people in a position of power choose to express it in this way. Though it does consider defining crime from more than just one perspective.
Winlow eval
Explains why a tiny sector of society may commit crime but doesn’t offer a solution and isn’t very widely applicable
Why do Realists not agree with postmodernists ?
Postmodernists do not provide any solutions for crime, just more observations – like their predecessors.
It does offer an explanation for all crime, not just utilitarian ones.
Lea argues that Postmodernism is just agreeing with previous theories that crime is a social construction, but painting it as something else.
Foucault’s Panopticon Prison
- disciplinary concept where a central observation tower is placed within a circle of prison cells
- From the tower, a guard can see every cell and inmate but the inmates can’t see into the tower. Prisoners will never know whether or not they are being watched.
