Panel
Fifty Years in Criminology and Sociology
Changing conceptualizations of crime in the last fifty years of criminology
David Kauzlarich
Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies
The conceptualization of crime within the field of criminology has undergone significant
change in the last fifty years. While early criminological approaches focused on violent
street crime committed by boys, men, and the poor, the last fifty years have been marked
by increased research and theory on other forms of crime, including but not limited to,
crimes by political and corporate elites, dominant racial groups against other racial
groups, and domestic violence. This talk outlines the historical and contemporary social,
political, and academic conditions which have given rise to the inclusion of these forms
of crime within the purview of academic criminology and offers predictions about other
forms of crime likely to be included in future criminological analyses.