Towards a Pedagogy of Public Criminology

Abstract

In light of recent debates on 'public criminology', this article chooses to focus on teaching as a way of reaching more publics. The various characteristics of a more public and engaged discipline are discussed and applied specifically to the teaching of criminology, including the relative merits and demerits of reorienting teaching in this way. Following on from this discussion, the article outlines some practical ways in which this vision can be realised. Given the many affinities between the Burawoyan concept of public '-ologies' and the scholarship of learning and teaching, an argument is advanced for teaching as one of the first steps towards the practice of a more public criminology.

A pedagogy of ‘public criminology’ as a counter to marginality? Lessons for community sanctions and measures from the Pedagogy of the Oppressed

“…'Public' scholarship has been adopted by multiple disciplines to disseminate knowledge to wider audiences, and criminology is no exception (Hamilton, 2013). While criminologists have long argued for greater engagement with extra-academia audiences (Uggen and Inderbitzen, 2010), such discussions were accelerated by (then-President of the American Sociological Association) Michael Burawoy's (2004: 5) calls for sociologists to immerse themselves in 'matters of political and moral concern'.…”

“…With a focus on the sub-field of CSM, and probation in particular, this article takes inspiration from Freire's (1970Freire's ( /2017 work as a means to empower criminology students with the tools to counter dominant narratives on crime and to work towards positive penal transformation. The article develops a nascent literature on the 'pedagogy of public criminology' (Hamilton, 2013). The study of 'public criminology', which 'takes as part of its defining mission a more vigorous, systematic and effective intervention in the world of social policy' (Currie, 2007: 176), has emerged in recent decades in an attempt to overpass the divide between political representations of crime and professional inertia.…”

“…Students are presented not as passive learners to be 'domesticated' (Freire, 1970(Freire, /2017 into the inevitabilities of retributive criminal justice systems, but as public-facing, active, and critical subjects capable of making a difference. A commitment to empowerment is thus integral to a pedagogy of public criminology (Hamilton, 2013).…”

“…The third part draws out the meaning of a 'public criminology' and emerging attempts to apply it to pedagogic practises. The final part reflects on how a pedagogy of public criminology (Hamilton, 2013) can be developed for CSM, reflecting on a 30-credit, third-year undergraduate elective I designed for the academic year 2020/21, 'Rehabilitation of Offenders'. Here, it is important to note that the module was not designed in accordance with Freireian principles; rather, post-hoc rationalisations revealed key similarities with the Pedagogy of the Oppressed.…”

Flying through the Cuckoo’s Nest: Countering the politics of agency in public criminology

“…What does it mean to be a politically engaged criminologist today? Over the last two decades, scholars from numerous disciplines have insisted that a requisite of political engagement is the facilitation of greater dialogue between criminologists and their publics (Barak, 1988(Barak, , 2007Burawoy et al, 2010;Carlen, 2011;Clawson et al, 2007;Currie, 2007;Ericson, 2005;Garland and Sparks, 2000;Hamilton, 2013;Kalekin-Fishman, 2011;Mopas, 2015;Woolford and Hogeveen, 2014). Only quite recently have tensions emerged over what forms of political action are considered to be legitimate and effective (Piché, 2016;Ziobina and Vazquez, 2018).…”