Gangs and Society

Louis Kontos is an associate professor of sociology at Long Island University, C. W. Post campus. David C. Brotherton is an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. Luis Barrios is an assistant professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. With David Brotherton, he co-authored Between Black and Gold: The Street Politics of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Columbia 2003).

From the Jets to the Bloods to the Latin Kings, gangs have long symbolized the roughest parts of urban America. Still, argues this collection of essays, crime and theft are just a part of what fuels their existence; gangs' roles in communities is far more complex. City Limits A refreshing anthology on gang life in the US. The editors have compiled fascinating, serious, and informative articles concerned with the theoretical and methodological contexts of gang research, women and gangs, links between gangs and politics, the problems of youth and gang life, and the social control of gangs... An excellent, very readable source. Highly recommended. Choice The popular image that depicts gangs as nothing more than criminal enterprises is too restrictive a picture.Gangs and Society moves beyond this tradition and instead represents an important advancement in understanding the role gangs play in some urban communities... this work is certainly a meaningful addition to the existing gang literature. -- Sean P. Varano Contemporary Sociology Finally! A solidly researched book that challenges the conservative academic dogma of gang members as incorrigible superpredators... May this book provoke a great rethinking of all that is amiss in our society today. -- Tom Hayden, professor at Occidental College and former California state senator The book's editors...do a remarkable job of highlighting the economic, political, social and cultural factors that impact the activities of gangs. -- Matthew T. Theriot Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

• Introduction Theory and Methodology A Note on Social Theory and the American Street Gang, by Sudhir Venkatesh Gangs and Politics Toward a Typology of Contemporary Mexican American Youth Gangs, by Avelardo Valdez Gangs, Agency, and At-risk Youth The Negligible Role of Gangs in Drug Distribution in New York City in the 1990s, by Ric Curtis Women and Gangs Marginal Youth, Personal Identity, and the Contemporary Gang: Reconstructing the Social World?, by Kevin McDonald Gangs and Social Control Gangs and the Contemporary Urban Struggle: An Unappreciated Aspect of Gangs, by Albert DiChiara and Russell Chabot Gangs and Photography Urban Street Activists: Gang and Community Efforts to Bring Justice to Los Angeles Neighborhoods, by Juan Francisco Esteva Martinez 7. The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation and the Spirituality of Resistance: Agency Social Cohesion and Liberating Rituals in the Making of a Street Organization., by Luis Barrios 8. Education in the Reform of Street Organizations in New York City, by David Brotherton Liberating yet Limiting: The Paradox of Female Gang Membership, by Dana Nurge Amor de Reina! The Pushes and Pulls of Group Membership among the Latin Queens, by David Brotherton and Camila Salazar-Atias Gangs and the Law, by Loren Siegel The Gang Crackdown in the Prisons of Massachusetts: Arbitrary and Harsh Treatment Can Only Make Matters Worse, by Phillip Kassel On the Subject of Gang Photography, by Richard Rodriguez From Civil War to Gang War: The Tragedy of Edgar Bolanos, by Donna DeCesare Snapshots of a Movement: The New York Latin Kings and Queens 1996-99, by Steve Hart and David Brotherton