Deconstructing Criminology’s Origin Stories

Abstract

The global production of knowledge is grossly skewed to the northern Anglophone world (Hogg et al. in International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 6(1), 1-7, 2017;Connell 2007). It should be no surprise therefore that criminology's origin stories are derivative of northern experiences, yet generalised as universal theories of crime causation. In this article, we argue that the origin stories of criminological theory translated the 'darker', 'hairier' and 'muscular' masculinities of the global south into prototypes of dangerousness. These prototypes were first articulated as scientific claims in the nineteenth century works of Lombroso, but have been refined and embedded in mainstream criminological discourses well into the present, mainly through the quantitative study of social disorganisation, 'race' and racialised masculinities as variables in crime causation. The paper concedes that while deeply troubling expressions of violent masculinity exist now and in the past in the global south, it is mistaken to conceive this violence simply as expressions of atavism or social disorganisation associated with a less civilised world. On the contrary, this paper argues that the violence of colonality itself has had, and continues to have, a criminogenic impact on the present.

Decolonising Criminology: Syed Hussein Alatas on Crimes of the Powerful

“…In recent years, a number of scholars have reignited the debate about the Westerncentrism of criminology, each offering their own distinct terminology to resolve the problem. This has led to calls for 'counter colonial criminology' (Agozino 2004a: 350), 'transnational criminology' (Bowling 2011;Sheptycki 2008: 15), 'African criminology' (Agozino 2010: vii-viii), 'Asian criminology' (Belknap 2016;Liu 2009;Liu et al 2013;Liu 2017) and 'Southern criminology' (Carrington et al 2016;Carrington and Hogg 2017;Carrington et al 2018;Hogg et al 2017). These scholars share the same concerns as those who came before them in seeking to decentre criminological knowledge production in order to attain a more inclusive approach to understanding crime, justice and punishment.…”

Criminology, Gender and Risk: The Dilemmas of Northern Theorising for Southern Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

“…The dominance of Northern theorising for Southern (criminological) agendas in the context of criminology is being subjected to ever increasing critical scrutiny (see, inter alia, Carrington and Hogg 2017;Carrington et al 2016). Much of this scrutiny has been informed by the work of Connell (2007), amongst others.…”

“…However, the extent to which this key is master in a global sense is open to debate. It is at this juncture the criminal justice practice of risk assessment, aligned as it is with the wider criminological and victimological embrace of risk, raises the spectre of criminology's origin stories (Carrington and Hogg 2017) offenders. Ultimately, once the presence of this spectre is made visible, our senses can become differently informed.…”

The Relevance of Criminal Courts in the Global South

“…The third section describes common factors that affect courts in the Global South. Courts Although there is not unified definition of the global south (Carrington and Hogg 2017;Dados and Connell 2012;Santos 2016), a common agreement exists that the term helps to highlight the common experience of peripheral and semi-peripheral societies in the current globalised world, allowing us to refer to these societies without falling into terms heavily loaded with negative connotations such as "underdeveloped" or "developing" countries and "third world". Global South points to a section of the world that has suffered colonialism, and that it still is suffering from its enduring economic, political, cultural, and social legacy, without implying in any way that they are inferior to or falling behind the former colonial metropolis.…”

“…Importantly, the colonial violence exceeds the strictly economic and political realm by heavily influencing epistemological realm. As stated by Carrington and Hogg (2017), countries from the Global South " . .…”