Description
Book SynopsisFor the first time, Crime and Deviance brings together the important essays and previously unpublished writings of Edwin M. Lemert. More than any other author, Lemert first established the foundations of the modern sociology of crime and social deviance. Beginning with his first and now classic work, Social Pathology, in 1951 through his last work The Trouble With Evil published in 1997 the year of his death, Lemert wrote with keen empirical insight on crime and criminal personality, juvenile justice, alcoholism, check forgers, court and legal process, among many other topics. Lemert''s famous societal reaction theory thus became a necessary ingredient of any realistic understanding of those who violate the perceived norms of social order. It is virtually impossible to discuss crime and lesser forms of social deviance without using language Lemert introduced into scientific and popular vocabularies. Crime and Deviance presents for the first time an important body of Professor Lemert''s unpublished work. It thus allows rare insight into his constantly changing thought which is as fresh today as ever.
Trade ReviewThis book is a testimony to one of the most original thinkers in 20th century criminology. It is must reading for students and scholars alike. From the introduction by Charles Lemert, Ed Lemert's nephew, to the conclusion by Michael Winter, the book is loaded with insights and a unique perspective on crime and deviance. -- William Chambliss, George Washington University
Edwin M. Lemert was the founder of the societal reaction theory of deviant behavior and, as such, was the most important person in the development of what we know as labeling theory. This book contains some of Edwin Lemert's best known publications, works published in obscure places, and seven previously unpublished papers. * Contemporary Sociology *
Ed Lemert was an important figure in sociological theory and in the study of crime. This book provides an excellant overview of his work. -- Thomas J. Scheff, University of California, Santa Barbara
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Crime and Deviance Part 2 Foundation and Evolution of Societal Reaction Theory Chapter 3 The Paradigm Emerges: From Social Pathology to Deviance Chapter 4 The Paradigm Forms: Societal Reaction, Differentiation, and Individuation Chapter 5 Majesty in Decay: The Paradigm Reaches Its Limits Chapter 6 Choice, Value, and Action: Social Problems and General Social Theory Chapter 7 Labeling: Some Persistent Problems Chapter 8 Family Resemblances and Sibling Rivalries: An Informal History of the Study of Deviance Part 9 Ethnographies of the Marginal: Empirical Studies of Deviance and Social Problems Chapter 10 Home Brew, Hoochinoo, and the Whiskey Feast: Indian Drinking in the Pacific Northwest Chapter 11 Fast Living, Big Spending, and Life on the Edge: The Life of the Check Forger Chapter 12 You Are Not One of Us: Constructing Abnormality in Social Interaction Chapter 13 Sociologists on the Trail of Evil Chapter 14 Alcohol Comes to the South Seas Part 15 Juvenile Justice, Law, and Social Control Chapter 16 Dilemmas of Intervention Chapter 17 Children and the Law in 20th Century of America Chapter 18 Why Children Should be Kept out of Court Chapter 19 Children and the Law in Italy Part 20 Papers on Law, Society and Jurisprudence Chapter 21 The Origins of American Sociological Jurisprudence Chapter 22 The Changing Foundations of Sociological Jurisprudence Chapter 23 Jurisprudence, Law, and Sociology Chapter 24 Criminalization and Historical Context: Theory of Heuristic Method? Chapter 25 Afterword
