Cultural Criminology

Abstract

Cultural criminology is a critical perspective that examines the convergence of culture and crime in everyday social life. As an orientation, cultural criminology draws from a variety of theoretical traditions, including subcultural and interactionist theories, cultural and media studies, and postmodern and feminist approaches. Cultural criminologists utilize a variety of methodologies, including ethnography and textual analysis, to explore “crime as culture” and “culture as crime.” Crime as culture focuses on the shared meanings of subcultural style and rituals among subcultural groups, while culture as crime explores the mediated constructions and criminalization of popular culture artifacts. Cultural criminologists approach the study of culture and crime from a place of criminological “Verstehen,” or an empathic understanding of the lives of their research subjects.