CRM 2301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Edwin Sutherland, Symbolic Interactionism, Social Hygiene Movement

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRM 2301
• Professor: Vajmeh Tabibi

Document Summary

Explanation of a phenomenon (link between 2 events) System of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condense and organizes knowledge about a phenomenon. Unit theories: emphasizes particular problem, are testable. Empirical evidence, intuition, common sense, expert opinion. Must be based on careful/systematic observation, evidence, logic. Must be testable, open to amending if contradictory observations accumulate. Level of abstraction: scope covered by theory. Macro-theories: explain social structure and its effects. Are broad in their scope (focuses on rate of crime such as anomie and conflict theories) Range from purely socio to psycho to bio (social learning theories) Bridging theories: focus on social structure and how people become criminal. Classical vs positive: focus on essence of human conditions, laws/rights vs. focus on pathology, treatment/correction of criminality in individuals and the scientific study of criminality. Structure vs. process: focus on way society is organized and how this influences behaviour vs. explaining how people become criminals.