Crime, Prisons and Viscous Culture [electronic resource] : Adventures in Criminalized Identities /

Abstract

This unique book explores criminalized identities and the idea of 'viscous culture' to provide new understandings of crime, punishment and justice. It shows that viscous culture encourages some of us to become outlaws, monsters or shapeshifters who challenge systems of domination and forces of control. Crime, Prisons and Viscous Culture interweaves analyses of popular culture with extensive empirical research to explore both the glamorous and grotesque nature of crime, control and containment. Through encounters with numerous popular and mythological archetypes the book explores the boundaries of the criminological discipline. Criminology itself is presented as fragmented, distorted and fascinating, and the important transdisciplinary potential of criminology is highlighted. In doing so, this book will be of great interest to scholars of criminology, cultural studies, popular culture and sociological theory.

Part I. Once Upon a Time -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Word Up! Mythology Through to Popular Culture -- Chapter 3. Introducing the Men -- Part II. Criminalized Lifestyles -- Chapter 4. Outlaws and Gangsters -- Chapter 5. Lone Ranger, Robin Hood, The Wild One and Ghetto Supastar -- Part III. Prison Experiences -- Chapter 6. Comics and the Gothic -- Chapter 7. Ghosts, Monsters and Hulk -- Part IV. Becoming a Prisoner -- Chapter 8. Shapeshifting Identities -- Chapter 9. Metamorphosis, Trickster and Werewolf -- Part 5. Conclusion -- Chapter 10. Towards a Viscous Understanding of Culture.

This unique book explores criminalized identities and the idea of 'viscous culture' to provide new understandings of crime, punishment and justice. It shows that viscous culture encourages some of us to become outlaws, monsters or shapeshifters who challenge systems of domination and forces of control. Crime, Prisons and Viscous Culture interweaves analyses of popular culture with extensive empirical research to explore both the glamorous and grotesque nature of crime, control and containment. Through encounters with numerous popular and mythological archetypes the book explores the boundaries of the criminological discipline. Criminology itself is presented as fragmented, distorted and fascinating, and the important transdisciplinary potential of criminology is highlighted. In doing so, this book will be of great interest to scholars of criminology, cultural studies, popular culture and sociological theory.