Activist Criminology: Criminologists’ Responsibility to Advocate for Social and Legal Justice

Abstract

Similar to many criminologists, my interest in pursuing this career was driven by a desire to improve responses to injustices, on both small and large scales. I believe that among criminologists, this dedication to effect changes in social and legal justice disproportionately drives those of us historically kept out of the academy due to our race, gender, class, sexual identity, and/or other marginalizations. Fortunately, there is a growing diversity among criminologists and this has had a powerful impact on expanding the scope and depth of the field. At the same time, I am concerned that academic training and university climates frequently work against our commitment to advancing social and legal justice changes, what I refer to as “criminology activism.” This address is a call to action, stressing criminologists’ responsibility to advocate for social and legal justice on small and large scales. Numerous types of criminology activism are identified (e.g., in research, service, and teaching), including the requisite to continue diversifying the representation of criminologists.

Criminologia Crítica, Feminismo e Interseccionalidade na Abordagem do Aumento do Encarceramento Feminino

“…Portanto, é uma perspectiva que permite analisar o impacto das posições sociais interligadas ocupadas pelos indivíduos em relação ao crime, seja na condição de agressores ou de vítimas. A perspectiva tem sido amplamente defendida para sua aplicação e fortalecimento em pesquisas criminológicas (Belknap, 2015;Bell, 2017;Daly, 2006).…”

Institutionalizing Public Scholarship: Lessons from Feminism and Symbolic Interactionism

“…The academy is undoubtedly an institution and the corporate university an institutional setting that exhibits particular habituated cultural norms and practices. For example, many view the university strictly as a place of learning rather than “doing,” despite the fact that teaching can be an important form of activism (Belknap ; Faith ; Hill‐Collins ; Risman ). Similarly, the longstanding “publish or perish” mindset and the growing emphasis on journal rank and impact factor are key components to academic socialization that begin in earnest in graduate school where emerging scholars are mentored to develop the vocabulary and to embrace the normative discourses and associated practices that are required to be successful in academe.…”

“…By challenging the traditional academic script, scholarship with commitment works to avoid the institutional norms that maintain the division between academics and the publics they study. Moreover, eschewing habitualization facilitates tying the different pieces of one's academic life together (Belknap ; Denzin ; Faith ; Hill‐Collins ), which can circumvent the dangers of compartmentalization that Sprague and Laube's participants () described. Given the importance of working against institutional norms in favor of progressive, interactive and grounded research it is important to consider the potential consequences of institutionalizing public scholarship.…”

“…In order to balance a commitment to social justice with institutional expectations of research and teaching, many feminists seek ways to integrate activism into their lives as scholars (Belknap ; Faith ; Fillmore, Dell, and Kilty ; Hill‐Collins ; Risman ). For example, the Walls to Bridges program combines prisoner rights and social justice activism with institutional teaching responsibilities in a grounded pedagogical endeavor that aims “to produce critical thinkers” (Risman :287).…”

“…The integration of activism into one's role as a scholar may not be easy and may require a degree of “trial and error,” but feminists have shown that it is certainly possible. In fact, Belknap (:4) argues that our privileged positions as academics means that we have “a heightened responsibility for activism.”…”