Criminological Theory : Past to Present : Essential Readings

by Compiler-Robert Agnew; Editor-Robert Agnew; Editor-Francis T. Cullen

Roxbury is pleased to announce the publication of the Second Edition of Cullen and Agnew's popular and acclaimed CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY: Past to Present (Essential Readings). This comprehensive anthology takes readers on an excursion from "past to present," reviewing classic and contemporary contributions and showing how current theories are opening new and exciting doorways into understanding crime. Students are introduced to the foundations of criminology and the competing theories that will shape thinking about crime in the years ahead.

The new edition includes 14 new selections, ranging from classic works by Beccario and Reckless to recent selections on social disorganization, deterrence, critical, and control balance theories. Two new sections have been added: "The Origins of Modern Criminology" and "Developmental Theories: Crime and the Life Course." Many of the other sections have been substantially revised. The section on biological and psychological theories, for example, now includes recent work by Ellis, Walsh, Rowe, Caspi, Moffitt, Brennan, Raine, and others.

New introductory essays provide overviews of the different theories and perspectives and their relationship to one another. The reader is divided into twelve sections, each covering a major theoretical approach to the study of crime. Each section begins with a classic statement of the theoretical approach, after which selections from contemporary theories are presented. This eases instruction because students are able to trace how criminological thinking developswitnessing how scholars "stand on the shoulders of the giants" in the field to see differently, if not farther.

Each individual reading offers an introduction that alerts readers to key points and integrates the selection into the larger themes of the section. These introductions serve as a useful "road map" as students travel through the ongoing intellectual developments, diverse views, and continuing debates that make the study of criminological theory an exciting adventure.

Francis T. Cullen is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D. in 1979 from Columbia University. He is the author of Rethinking Crime and Deviance Theory: The Emergence of a Structuring Tradition, coauthor of Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences, and coeditor of Contemporary Criminological Theory. He is past president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and former editor of Justice Quarterly.

Robert Agnew is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Emory University. He received his Ph.D. in 1980 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has published widely in the area of criminology, including his books, The Future of Anomie Theory and Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control. He is most noted for his development of "general strain theory," a perspective that is attracting considerable theoretical and empirical attention. Agnew is past president of the Georgia Sociological Association and has served on the editorial boards of the journals, Criminology and Social Forces.

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks, Sociology, Grad School, Read For School

374 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[McKenna]

Counting this towards my reading goal cuz it took up all my time.

[Dia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a textbook that I read front to cover for my criminology class, I actually enjoyed it. Mainly because the teacher was able to explain everything when the class couldn't understand, which really just means the language of the textbook was a little advanced, but not too much of a problem if you're used to extensive textbook reading.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The text provides an explaination of various theories of criminology, then provides excerpts of the text being discussed. This is a terrific resource providing key theories and highlights of publications for reference. the authors include highlights of the various studies and theories from the original authors. really a great reference for the bookshelf if you are studying the subject.

[CraftyBirdies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't finish the class, so I didn't finish the whole book, but I read a lot of it. Honestly, this was really great because it had summaries of the movements and of each excerpt that was in there. It makes for a great textbook, especially for skimming summaries if there isn't time to read it all :)

[Ava Jane Walton Moorlach · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good crim textbook 🏃‍♀️

[Allison Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counted this toward my reading goal because I had to read the entire thing for my criminology class.

[Kulsoom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the first textbook I've ever read for school, cover to cover. (Plus extra.) Very insightful and fascinating. Of course, it helped that the class was extremely well taught because this book was not always a consistently easy read.

The book gives you all the important material regarding relevant and leading criminological theories, but allows for you to come your own conclusions about the validity or acceptability of the theories, especially in terms of what it would mean for crime prevention. I also liked that the textbook included not only summaries of the theories, but that it included the original (excerpts of the) theories.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for class. It a an excellent source for a foundation of theoretical knowledge. I intend to keep it and refer to it in the future.

[Alexandra Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a textbook, this was great. Yes, it's redundant, but all the more helpful. The introductions beginning each chapter coupled with selection from ORIGINAL WRITINGS is a fantastic idea. It's everything I could've dreamed of for all of my psychology texts. Unfortunately this book within my criminal justice minor is the only taste I've gotten of this format.

I only had one problem with this text and that was the obvious liberal skew. Pretty sure Cullen and Agnew tried to destroy conservative theories of crime at every opportunity. The points they made against conservative theories were not wrong, in fact I agree profusely with them that most conservative theories are pretty ignorant, but they make no attempt to explain the details of these ideas or reveal any of the evidence that they *might* work. Persuasion only works when you can thoroughly explain and comprehend the ideas presenting on the opposing side, and the conservative theories were brushed over with little more than "there's little evidence to support this and look how much better this other theory is because it doesn't punish people." I think they overemphasized lack of punishment as a positive factor in certain theories. You can't expect every offender to be willing or attentive to rehabilitation programs or for at-risk youth to care about community involvement programs. They help, yes, but they're not the end-all-be-all of deterrence.