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Sociological theories on racism
The cause and the effect of racism
Racism and our society
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Sociological theories on racism
The cause and the effect of racism
Racism and our society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Social structure and social factors are a huge component in the creation of criminogenic environments. Using a structural approach in explaining the creation of criminogenic environments “helps us understand why poor urban areas have higher street crime rates than wealthy suburbs” (page 128). There are many different theories and ideas that can help us explain this structural approach and what roles they have in creating a criminogenic society. Durkheim’s theories are extremely known in today’s society. His theories on socialization and social ties help us to explain how the structure of society can contribute to the crime in those areas.
While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the
Exactly how culture impacts people depends on the environment of the culture as it can create deviant behavior. This theory is supported by Elijah Andersons’ Code of the Streets as, according to Anderson (2000), he indicates that crime is the result of varying cultural influences on the people within the community, specifically urban communities (p. 11). What better way to depict the effects of culture on a community than by comparing it to the community of Crenshaw? Crenshaw is filled with deviant behavior and this behavior has caused the people within the community to acclimate to it. Not only is the community filled with immoral behavior, but it is an area that is filled with struggling ethnic minorities.
While some theories are not as common, others have evolved and are used in many criminal studies today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the facts of Hernandez’s crime. Biological Theory is
Criminal Behavior James Joseph Bulger III (better known as) Whitey Bulger’s criminal behavior started early on in life. Whitey ran away to join the circus at ten years old. According to Biography.com, “Whitey Bulger was first arrested when he was 14 years old, for stealing, and his criminal record continued to escalate from there. As a youth, he was arrested for larceny, forgery, assault and battery, and armed robbery and served five years in a juvenile reformatory.
This novel highlights the fact of the injustices people of color are faced with in everyday life. In the introduction of this book, Michelle Alexander highlights the criminal justice system and how rather than identifying people by their race, people of color are labeled as criminals. I believe the criminal justice system, racial caste, ideology, and global examples of racial caste are all connected to racial inequality. I feel that the race and criminal justice system are connected on the basis that people of color are seen as unequal when compared to Caucasians. In the reading the author provides good examples of how officers are well trained at defending against claims of racial bias in policing.
Criminal and conflict gang whose primarily intent of crimes for tangible gains. Social structure theorists consider that the main components to illegal behavior are the ascendancy of social and economic influences that are distinguished in rundown communities where the population is predominantly lower-class citizens (Siegel, 2010). This following theory goes into helping us comprehend ways the human behavior, is the result of physical
To expand my research to attain the goal of understanding specification of both explanations, The southern subculture of violence theory blames higher crime rates in the South on “cultural values that evolved from that region’s unique history” (Ousey, 2000:268). All cultural explanations are based on the social learning approach, which holds that criminality is learned through intimate interactions with others. Another example is that capital punishment is highest in the South. The economic deprivation explanation to differences of crime rates within regions of the country is synonymous with strain theories.
Alexander uses the term “racial caste” to characterize a branded ethnic group confined into an inferior position by law and order. Jim Crow and slavery were caste systems and so is our current system of mass incarceration. Alexander describes how differently the criminal justice is portrayed in TV then how it actually functions. The criminal justice system has weakened Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure and augmented police authority have all expedited the development of a lawful caste system, by disregarding basic civil rights. Americans of all races sell and use illegal drugs at outstandingly similar rates.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander published in 2012, is a 261 page book detailing how mass incarceration has become the new form of legalized discrimination. BACKGROUND A large cause for the writing of this book is that there is currently not much research or call for a criminal justice reform. According to Alexander the main goal of the book is to “stimulate a much-needed conversation about the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy in the United States” (2012:16).
Michael Coyle feels that the study of language leads a person to have a greater understanding of the link between crime and race (Paynich & Hill video, 2014). Coyle’s suppositions that those in criminal justice racialize their language and that everyday language not only criminalizes people of color, but it also builds and maintains a racist form of criminal justice system including practices, even while acknowledging that there is a problem of race when crime and criminal justice is concerned (Paynich & Hill video, 2014). According to Coyle, when those in the criminal justice field talk about racial prejudice it usually ends up placing race and crime together and therefore causes a link between crime and people of color whether it is done
There are many theories that suggest that crime is constructed socially, or is a product of the society in which the crime is committed. One such theory, proposed by Robert Merton, is known as strain theory. While strain theory is a useful model for explaining how societal values can drive people to commit crimes, it has several flaws and does not focus on how laws are made and how this contributes to the formation of crime. While Merton suggests that laws are created from consensus within a society, it will be argued that strain theory can also support the idea that laws are a “product of conflict” (Hagan 5). Strain theory is founded on the idea that the goals of a society and the accepted means of achieving said goal causes strain that can
(Gangs) A deviant subculture is defined as a subculture, which has values and norms that differ substantially from the majority of people in society. When a neighborhood or community favors illegal activities, a criminal subculture is likely to develop such as gangs. Walter Miller states that deviant subcultures don’t arise from the inability of a community to achieve success, but because of a lower-class subculture whose values and norms are different from the rest of society. Subcultures can be a good thing, because they can provide a sense of belonging, interaction with people who have similar interests, and gives members the freedom to express individuality.
Whereas Cultural criminology has “learned that ‘theory must learn from life” (Presdee, 2004:277). Cultural criminology strives to do what
As far as crime is concerned, it is defined by the law. Deviance is unexpected behaviour, but not exactly considered criminal. Many consider crime as a social problem – a problem as defined by society, such as homelessness, drug abuse, etc. Others would say crime is a sociological problem – something defined as a problem by sociologists and should be dealt with accordingly by sociologists. This essay attempts to discover the boundaries between these two and ultimately come to an appropriate conclusion.