SOC 100 Study Guide - American Exceptionalism, Stranger Danger, Edwin Sutherland
Document Summary
3 subfields/foci: criminology"s most important task is to examine the relationships in the triangle of fear of crime, crime itself, and the images of crime constructed by the mass media, what is crime, 1. Generates all sorts of opinions about crime: we assume often and we think we know about what we should do about crime. Crime as socially constructed: briefly define/explain: crime, crime statistics are all socially constructed, crime is a product of human endeavor. 3 dimensions of social relativity (& examples of each: when things are o=socially constructed, they vary relative to history, crime is different across cultural variations, intra-social. What are the implications of social construction? (i. e. why does it matter?: crime is thought of as a social problem, social problems are socially constructed, even if they are real. Criminalization process: 3 aspects of: 2 competing views of the state: what does it include, legalistic approach, sociological approach. Crime is that which is against the law.
