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CRIME PLAYS A USEFUL ROLE IN SOCIAL
EVOLUTION -DURKHEIM
“Where crime exists, collective sentiments are sufficiently
flexible to take on a new form, and crime sometimes
helps determine the form they will take”
“Socrates’ crime, independence of thought, provided a service not only
to humanity but to his country, preparing the ground for a new morality
& faith in Athens, since traditions were no longer in harmony with
current conditions”
 Socrates’ violation was technically a crime, but it was useful as a prelude to
necessary reforms
[Durkheim, “The Normal and the Pathological”]
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CRIME MAY BE A PRELUDE TO NECESSARY REFORM
“It would never have been possible to establish the freedom of
thought we now enjoy if the regulations prohibiting it had not
been violated before being solemnly abrogated. At that time,
however, the violation was a crime, since it was an offense
against sentiments still very keen in the average conscience.
And yet this crime was useful as a prelude to reforms which
daily became more necessary.”
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CRIMINALIZATION / DECRIMINALIZATION
 Criminalization: the process by which behaviors and individuals are transformed into crime and
criminals. Previously legal acts may be turned into crimes by legislation or judicial decision.
 Decriminalization is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps
retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply.
 Decriminalization reflects changing social and moral views - that an act is not harmful,
should no longer be criminalized, or is otherwise not a matter to be addressed by the
criminal justice system.
 Examples of subject matter which have been the subject of changing views on criminality
over time in various societies and countries include:
 abortion, breastfeeding in public, drug possession, and recreational drug use, euthanasia,
homosexuality, prostitution, public nudity, steroid use in sport
 While decriminalized acts are no longer crimes, they may still be the subject of penalties,
e.g., a fine in place of a criminal charge for the possession of a decriminalized drug
 vs. “legalization,” which removes all or most legal detriments from a previously illegal act
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SUBCULTURES & COUNTERCULTURES
Subculture refers to a subgroup or subset of a larger culture that shares its own a distinctive set of
norms and values, apart from the mainstream
 “Subcultural theory” emerged in the work of the Chicago School, which focused on urban social
problems like crime and violence
 “Culture of poverty” theory is an example of a subcultural theory
 Such theories have been applied to all kinds of deviance
A counterculture is kind of subculture, but one whose norms and values consciously run counter
to the main culture, or at least aspire to
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WHAT IS ART? /ÄRT/
PRIMARY DEFINITION
The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be
appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power
e.g., the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance
The creation of beautiful or significant things
Of course, beauty – as well as significance – is in the eye of the beholder
SECONDARY DEFINITION
Skill at doing a specified thing, typically one acquired through practice
Superior skill, typically learn by study and practice and observation
the art of conversation, the art of war
(wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
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A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO ART

"The point of departure of the sociology of art is the question: How is it possible that works
of art, which always originate as products of human activity within a particular time and society
and for a particular time, society, or function -- even though they are not necessarily produced as
'works of art' -- can live beyond their time and seem expressive and meaningful in completely
different epochs and societies? On the other hand, how can the age and society that produced
them be recognized in the works?“ (Hanna Deinhard, Meaning and Expression: Toward a
Sociology of Art, 1970, p. 3)

Art does not necessarily have to last or endure in a tangible form (e.g., a sculpture or
painting). Art may also be performative, an event that happens only once
o Still, it may have lasting social consequences--on the artist/performer, audience,
communities or the broader society
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POLITICS?
 Politics (from Greek politikos "of, for, or relating to citizens") consists of
social relations involving authority or power and to the methods and
tactics used to formulate and apply policy
 Politics involves struggles over power in a community
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Another kind of
“bombing”?
“GRAFFITI GLOSSARY”
all city: Originally, this term meant to be known throughout the five boroughs of New York City
through the medium of subway cars. Today, it refers generally to being known for one's graffiti
throughout a city.
bomb: To bomb or hit is to paint many surfaces in an area. Bombers often choose throw-ups or
tags over complex pieces, as they can be executed more quickly.[3][4]
burn: To beat a competitor with a style.
burner
1. A large, more elaborate type of piece. The piece could be said to be "burning" out of the wall
or train-side. Because they take so much time and effort, burners in downtown areas are more
likely to be legal pieces, painted with the consent of the property owner. The early writers of
New York also did burners illegally on trains, and adventurous modern writers sometimes still
do large scale illegal pieces in heavily-trafficked areas.[3][5]
2. More recently, any quick chrome bombing or throwup.
burning: Any work having not been removed. "That piece is still burning on Main Street."
straight letter: Also referred to as "straights" and sometimes "simples" are a direct blocky, more
readable and simpler style of graffiti. Straight letters can be read by anyone and usually
contain only 2 colors.
wildstyle: Graffiti with text so stylized as to be difficult to read, often with interlocking, threedimensional type.[3
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THE QUALITY OF LIFE PARADIGM
a set of concrete social control practices united by a political philosophy of
that explained homelessness and disorder as a problem of personal
responsibility and established punitive method for restoring social order
and public civility. (p. 1,
Viewed prostitution, graffiti, young men hanging out on street corners, as
well as panhandlers and squeegee men, as a source rather than a
symptom of urban decline
Used punitive tactics (in policing and social policy) rather than rehabilitative
or structural reforms
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