Social Control - An Introduction 2E

What is social control? How do social controls become part of everyday life? What role does the criminal justice system play in exerting control? Is the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness a form of social control? Do we need more social controls to prevent terrorist atrocities? In this new edition of his popular and engaging introduction, James J. Chriss carefully guides readers through the debates about social control. The book provides a comprehensive guide to historical debates and more recent controversies, examining in detail the criminal justice system, medicine, everyday life, and national security. Assuming no specialist knowledge on the part of readers, he uses a rich range of contemporary examples to illustrate the ways in which social control is exerted and maintained. The updated edition includes new and expanded discussion of the 2011 Tucson shootings, post-9/11 counterterrorism laws after the death of Bin Laden, racial profiling and housing segregation, hate crimes, (counter)surveillance and flash mobs, the diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD, and agents of socialization in the areas of work, religion, and the media. This new edition of Social Control: An Introduction will be essential reading for students taking courses in deviance and social control, and will also appeal to those studying criminology, the sociology of law and medical sociology.
- Updated to investigate the latest current events with which students will be familiar, such as the Tucson shootings, and the death of bin Laden- Updated throughout to make reference to the latest scholarship and theoretical developments- Includes more material on race and urban/housing segregation, racial profiling and hate crimes- Includes new discussion questions at the end of each chapter, and up-to-date suggestions for further reading
* New edition of a popular and engaging guide to debates about social control
* Assumes no specialist knowledge, written in a clear style eminently suitable for use as an introductory text
* Balances a comprehensive guide to key theories, with examination of recent controversies and phenomena such as terrorism laws and surveillance
* Topics include racial profiling and housing segregation, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, and how work, media and religion act as agents of social control

James J. Chriss is associate professor of sociology at Cleveland State University.

IntroductionPART I UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL CONTROL1. What is Social Control?2. A Typology of Social Control3. Informal Control4. Medical Control5. Legal ControlPART II CASE STUDIES IN SOCIAL CONTROL6. Informal Control: Housing Segregation, the Code of the Street, and the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood7. Medical Control: ADHD, Selective Mutism, and Violence as a Disease8. Legal Control: Racial Profiling, Hate Crimes, and the Growth in Imprisonment9. Terrorism and Social Control10. Conclusion: The Future of Social Control?NotesReferences