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Week 3
Gender, Race, Class, & Criminology
34
Criminal Justice
Undergraduate 4
01/19/2017

Additional Criminal Justice Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
criminology
Definition
the scientific study of crime, especially why people commit crime
Term
criminal justice
Definition
the study of the practice of the criminal justice system - law enforcement, the courts, & corrections
Term
With the _____ school, people "gain" free will
Definition
classical
Term
The classical school feels that crime & deviance is the result of a ______ analysis
Definition
cost-benefit
Term
3 assumptions in Thomas Hobbes' "state of nature"
Definition
1. the "natural condition of mankind" is what would exist if there were no government, no civilization, no laws, & no power to restrain human nature
2. the state of nature is a "war of all against all", in which humans constantly seek to destroy each other in the constant pursuit for power
3. life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish, & short"
Term
The solution to the state of nature is what Hobbes called the ______, an agreement to give up some personal freedom in exchange for living in a safe & orderly society
Definition
social contract
Term
Positivism is the idea that it is possible to decide the specific causes of behavior using _____
Definition
scientific approaches
Term
Positivism is a ______ theory, meaning crime & deviance are caused by forces beyond an individual's control
Definition
deterministic
Term
Most scholars currently working from the positivist perspective are ______
Definition
post-positivist
Term
Is the post-positivistic perspective probabilistic or deterministic?
Definition
probabilistic
Term
How is the interest of critical theorists different from the interest of positivist theorists?
Definition
positivist = what causes crime?

critical = the social construction of law & crime
Term
Crime from the conflict perspective is a byproduct of ______
Definition
social inequality
Term
2 places from which crime arises under the conflict perspective
Definition
1. the effort of those in power
2. those positioned lower in the social structure
Term
The basic assumption of the Marxist theory of crime is that the majority of the population are exploited by ______
Definition
capitalism
Term
______ posits that a direct relationship exists between the interest of the ruling class & the criminal justice system
Definition
instrumental Marxism
Term
According to instrumental Marxism, how does the ruling class affect the law?
Definition
they decide what is criminal
Term
According to instrumental Marxism, who applies the law?
Definition
the dominant class
Term
primitive rebellion hypothesis
Definition
crime is a necessary outcome of inequality in capitalist societies
Term
crimes of accommodation
Definition
crimes of the powerless
Term
What does it mean that crimes of accommodation are "false consciousness"?
Definition
actually maintains the capitalist system through increased law enforcement
Term
crimes of domination
Definition
crimes of the powerful - control, economic domination, government, & social injury
Term
Structural Marxism posits a _____ relationship between the interests of the ruling class & how social class institutions operate
Definition
indirect
Term
Chambliss' theory is an example of ______ Marxism
Definition
structural
Term
stigmata
Definition
physical manifestations of atavism (evolutionary throwbacks) [according to Lombroso, societies could determine criminals early in life through this]
Term
_____ theories influenced movements such as eugenics, which lasted throughout the early 20th century
Definition
biological
Term
______ theories note that crime rate remains high over time in certain city neighborhoods, even as the ethnic profile of the areas change
Definition
ecological or environmental
Term
______ theories suggest that young males in particular engage in deviant subcultures (e.g. gangs, selling drugs) in order to gain status in marginalized neighborhoods
Definition
cultural & subcultural
Term
What is the difference between attributing racial/ethnic disparities to "differential involvement" vs. "differential selection"
Definition
involvement = more offenders are non-white

selection = the system treats minority offenders differently
Term
Under feminist criminology, is there a single unified feminist theory of crime?
Definition
no!
Term
Is feminist criminology simply the study of women & crime or women as victims?
Definition
no!
Term
the generalizability problem in criminological theory
Definition
why we cannot just "add women & stir"
Term
3 current issues facing feminist criminology
Definition
1. according to criminological theories (including feminist theories), 'maleness' is the single best predictor of criminal behavior - but theorists still have not adequately explained female offending
2. feminist analysis has largely ignored women of color, women of different social classes, non-heterosexual women, & other social locations of criminology
3. when conducting research, women are often considered either offenders or victims
Term
The current topic among feminist scholars is the _____ of race, class, & gender
Definition
intersection
Term
Developed as a legal theory, _____ theorists study the relationship between race, racism, & power
Definition
critical race
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