The New Criminology
The Book
was written at a particular time and place; it was a
product of 1968 and its aftermath: a world turned upside down .It was a time of great
changes in personal politics and a surge of politics on the left: Marxism, Anarchism,
Situationism as well as radical social democratic ideas became centre stage." Jock
Young, from the new introduction. Taylor, Walton and Young's
The New Criminology
is one of the seminal texts in Criminology. First published in 1973, it marked a watershed
moment in the development of critical criminological theory and is as relevant today as it
was forty years ago. It was one of the first texts to bridge the gap between
criminological and sociological theory and demonstrated the weaknesses of classical and
positivist criminology. Critics at the time saw it as the first truly comprehensive
critique of Anglo-American studies of crime and deviance. Reproduced unabridged, the
fortieth anniversary edition includes a brand new introductory essay from Jock Young
placing the book in its intellectual context and sequence and looking at the theories
which built up to it and the theories that have been built upon. It is essential reading
for all serious students engaged in criminological theory and is destined to inspire
future generations.
Introduction to the 40th Anniversary Edition by Jock Young, Forward by Alvin W.
Gouldner,
1, Classical criminology and the positivist revolution,
2. The appeal of positivism,
3. Durkheim and the break with 'analytical individualism',
4. The early sociologies of crime,
5. Social reaction, deviant commitment and career,
6. American naturalism and phenomenology,
7. Marx, Engels and Bonger on crime and social control,
8. The new conflict theorists, 9. Conclusion.
400 pages, Paperback