NCJ Number
140300
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (Autumn 1992) Pages: 423-437
Date Published
1992
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This author presents a case to bolster his argument that utopias, and utopian thinking, have played a crucial role in criminology and have, in fact, had an "activating presence" in the discipline.
Abstract
The role utopianism has had in criminology is particularly apparent at two critical junctures. The first was in the establishment of the various research agendas which together comprise criminology, while the second can be seen in the periodic attempts to reject the premises of a particular theory and the subsequent construction of a theory that is totally opposite in every way. The impact of utopianism is also evident in two other characteristics of criminology: its lack of an accepted stock of theoretical or empirical knowledge or methods and its legendary, argumentative nature. The author discusses here some preliminary issues related to his theory: his claim that criminology exists as an identifiable discipline and his definition of utopia. 25 references