Cultural Criminology

• what is cultural criminology a combination of?

  • postmodernism
  • interactionism
  • neo-marxism
  • functionalism
• what do they believe crime is a result of?

  'heightened emotion'
• Ferrel 1999


  • crime is an expression of resistance +identity
  • crime is a result of experienced emotions in po-mo world
  • ethnographic study on graffiti artists
  • people used public spaces to express identity --> tags
  • art is form of rebellion and self expression
  • thrill of being caught
• Katz 1998


  • crime is seductive
  • believes social characteristics (CAGE) can't explain crime & deviance alone
  • crime used as expression of identity --> intentionally get into fights
• Lyng 2005


  • edge work --> activities pushing/testing cultural boundaries
  • perfecting it can result in feelings of accomplishment
  • leads to intense emotions
  • helps people to cope in po-mo world --> provides an escape
• Young 2003


  • 'Bulimic Society'
  • society consumes --> individuals encourage them to achieve cultural goals --> spits them out if they don't achieve it (exclusion)
  • excludes underclass mostly
  • relative deprivation --> people feel deprived compared to others
  • feel anger / frustration --> leads to anomie & crime
• Presdee 2002


  • 'carnival of crime'
  • carnival provides opportunity to express deviant behaviour --> let off steam 'safety valve'
  • in po-mo society people binge drink
  • people in power tolerate it as safety valve but try limiting it --> adds to the risk --> people challenge it and do it more
• +VE EVALUATION


  • moves away from harsh punishment
  • encourages understanding for marginalised groups
• -VE EVALUATION


  • focus on W/C males
  • Interactionists: doesn't reflect true deviance --> only visible crimes