Ideal for use in either crime theory or race and crime courses, this is the only text to look at the array of explanations for crime as they relate to racial and ethnic groups. Each chapter begins with a historical review of each theoretical perspective and how its original formulation and more recent derivatives account for racial/ethnic differences. The theoretical perspectives include those based on religion, biology, social disorganization/strain, subculture, labeling, conflict, social control, colonial, and feminism. This new Second Edition includes discussions of "Deadly Symbiosis," critical race theory/criminology, comparative conflict theory, maximization, and abortion, race, and crime. In the closing chapter, the author considers which perspectives have shown the most promise in the area of race/ethnicity and crime.

Table of Contents

1. A Brief Introduction to Race, Crime, and Theory 2. Biological Perspectives on Race and Crime 3. Social Disorganization and Strain Perspectives on Race and Crime 4. Subcultural Perspectives on Race and Crime 5. Labeling Perspectives on Race and Crime 6. Conflict Perspectives on Race and Crime 7. Social Control Perspectives on Race and Crime 8. Colonial Perspectives on Race and Crime 9. Feminist Perspectives on Race and Crime 10. Conclusion

Author Biography

Shaun L. Gabbidon is Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. He has served as a Fellow at Harvard University's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, and as an adjunct Associate Professor in the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. His most recent books include Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice: An International Dilemma (2009) and the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (2009; co-edited with Dr. Helen Taylor Greene).