HISTORICAL APPROACHES TO CRIME - RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND ISSUES

• NCJ Number: 44260
• Author(s): J A INCIARDI; A A BLOCK; L A HALLOWELL
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 215 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: SAGE LIBRARY OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

Annotation

THE AUTHORS EXPLORE WAYS IN WHICH HISTORICAL STUDIES OF CRIME CAN BE MOST EFFECTIVELY UTILIZED IN CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, DRAWING ON THEORETICAL, METHODOLOGICAL, AND EMPIRICAL MATERIAL.

Abstract

PART I OF THE TEXT DEALS WITH A VARIETY OF THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE HISTORICAL APPROACH TO CRIME. PART II EXAMINES SPECIFIC AREAS IN THE HISTORY OF CRIME TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THE RELIANCE ON UNRELIABLE SOURCES HAS GENERATED MANY MISCONCEPTIONS. THE HISTORY OF THE 'WILD WEST' IS REVIEWED, ALONG WITH THAT OF ORGANIZED CRIME. PART III EXPLORES THREE ISSUES: THE RELATIONSHIP OF HISTORY TO CONCEPTS OF TIME AND THE WESTERN WORLD'S PERCEPTION OF REALITY; THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF HISTORY; AND THE NEW HISTORIES OF CRIME AS EXAMPLES OF THE METHODOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION FOUND IN THOSE ASPECTS OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL HISTORY WHICH MERGE SOCIAL SCIENCE TECHNIQUES WITH EXPLANATIONS OF LOWER-CLASS LIFE. APPENDIXES PRESENT REFERENCES AND SOURCE MATERIALS FOR RESEARCH INTO THE HISTORY OF CRIME. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED).