CULTURAL CRIMINIOLOGY – in between constructivism and critical
realism
Part 1 (15%): write down the main premise of each theory
Part 2 ( 40%): multiple-choice questions
Part 3 (45%): long-answer (in-depth account of perspectives),
thorough account of perspectives, history, strengths, critiques –
origins, main concepts, significance and critiques
PART 1
Key premise
- Grounded in the idea that crime is culturally meaningful, cultural
criminology explores the dynamics and meaning-making processes
surrounding crime, transgression and control
PART 2
How does cultural criminology understand “culture”? Select all
that apply
a) As existing independent from structure
b) As the symbolic environment through which we make sense of the
social world
c) As the dynamics in and through which we create, negotiate and
communicate meaning
d) As a static entity bound to territory and/or ethnicity
What role does crime play in culture? Select all that apply
a) In every society, there exists a cultural consensus of what
constitutes ‘crime’
b) Crime can be a creative solution to deal with specific cultural
dynamics
c) The cultural meaning of crime is defined by those holding the most
power in society
d) Crime is interwoven with consumer culture
, 1. Key Premise of Cultural Criminology
Choose the right answer
Q1. The key premise of cultural criminology is that crime:
A. Is best explained through rational cost–benefit calculations
B. Is primarily the result of biological or psychological pathology
C. Is culturally meaningful and shaped by processes of meaning-making
D. Can be fully understood through official crime statistics
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q2. Cultural criminology is concerned with:
☐ The meanings surrounding crime and control
☐ Crime as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon
☐ Crime as an objective, ontologically fixed reality
☐ Dynamics of transgression in late modern societies
Correct answers:
☑ The meanings surrounding crime and control
☑ Crime as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon
☑ Dynamics of transgression in late modern societies
2. Origins and Intellectual Influences
Choose the right answer
Q3. Cultural criminology emerged through the convergence of:
A. Classical criminology and positivism
B. Life-course criminology and developmental psychology
C. US sociology of deviance and British critical criminology
D. Feminist criminology and routine activity theory
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q4. Intellectual traditions influencing cultural criminology include:
☐ Interactionist sociology
☐ Subcultural studies
☐ Feminist and Marxist criminology
☐ Rational choice theory
realism
Part 1 (15%): write down the main premise of each theory
Part 2 ( 40%): multiple-choice questions
Part 3 (45%): long-answer (in-depth account of perspectives),
thorough account of perspectives, history, strengths, critiques –
origins, main concepts, significance and critiques
PART 1
Key premise
- Grounded in the idea that crime is culturally meaningful, cultural
criminology explores the dynamics and meaning-making processes
surrounding crime, transgression and control
PART 2
How does cultural criminology understand “culture”? Select all
that apply
a) As existing independent from structure
b) As the symbolic environment through which we make sense of the
social world
c) As the dynamics in and through which we create, negotiate and
communicate meaning
d) As a static entity bound to territory and/or ethnicity
What role does crime play in culture? Select all that apply
a) In every society, there exists a cultural consensus of what
constitutes ‘crime’
b) Crime can be a creative solution to deal with specific cultural
dynamics
c) The cultural meaning of crime is defined by those holding the most
power in society
d) Crime is interwoven with consumer culture
, 1. Key Premise of Cultural Criminology
Choose the right answer
Q1. The key premise of cultural criminology is that crime:
A. Is best explained through rational cost–benefit calculations
B. Is primarily the result of biological or psychological pathology
C. Is culturally meaningful and shaped by processes of meaning-making
D. Can be fully understood through official crime statistics
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q2. Cultural criminology is concerned with:
☐ The meanings surrounding crime and control
☐ Crime as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon
☐ Crime as an objective, ontologically fixed reality
☐ Dynamics of transgression in late modern societies
Correct answers:
☑ The meanings surrounding crime and control
☑ Crime as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon
☑ Dynamics of transgression in late modern societies
2. Origins and Intellectual Influences
Choose the right answer
Q3. Cultural criminology emerged through the convergence of:
A. Classical criminology and positivism
B. Life-course criminology and developmental psychology
C. US sociology of deviance and British critical criminology
D. Feminist criminology and routine activity theory
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q4. Intellectual traditions influencing cultural criminology include:
☐ Interactionist sociology
☐ Subcultural studies
☐ Feminist and Marxist criminology
☐ Rational choice theory
