Dragan Milovanovic - Böcker

Chaos theory challenges the presumption that the cosmos is orderly, linear, and predictable—but it does not imply pure randomness and chance events. Rather, chaos-informed postmodernist analysis introduces a new vision by celebrating unexpected, surprise, ironic, contradictory, and emergent elements. Scholars in many disciplines are taking this perspective as an alternative to the entrenched structural functionalism and empiricism rooted in linear science. In the early 1990s studies began to emerge applying chaos theory to criminology, law, and social change. This book brings together some of the key thinkers in these areas. Part I situates chaos theory as a constitutive thread in contemporary critical thought in criminology and law. It seeks to provide the reader with a sensitivity to how chaos theory fits within the postmodern perspective and an understanding of its conceptual tools. Part II comprises chapters on applying the chaos perspective to critical criminology and law and, beyond, to peacemaking. Part III presents studies in chaos-informed perspectives on new social movement theory, social change, and the development of social justice. While the book emphasizes the usefulness of the conceptual tools of chaos theory in critical criminology and law, its ultimate goal goes beyond theory-building to provide vistas for understanding the contemporary social scene and for the development of the new just society.

Chaos theory challenges the presumption that the cosmos is orderly, linear, and predictable—but it does not imply pure randomness and chance events. Rather, chaos-informed postmodernist analysis introduces a new vision by celebrating unexpected, surprise, ironic, contradictory, and emergent elements. Scholars in many disciplines are taking this perspective as an alternative to the entrenched structural functionalism and empiricism rooted in linear science. In the early 1990s studies began to emerge applying chaos theory to criminology, law, and social change. This book brings together some of the key thinkers in these areas. Part I situates chaos theory as a constitutive thread in contemporary critical thought in criminology and law. It seeks to provide the reader with a sensitivity to how chaos theory fits within the postmodern perspective and an understanding of its conceptual tools. Part II comprises chapters on applying the chaos perspective to critical criminology and law and, beyond, to peacemaking. Part III presents studies in chaos-informed perspectives on new social movement theory, social change, and the development of social justice. While the book emphasizes the usefulness of the conceptual tools of chaos theory in critical criminology and law, its ultimate goal goes beyond theory-building to provide vistas for understanding the contemporary social scene and for the development of the new just society.

This study introduces key emerging perspectives in postmodern analysis and discusses how they might be integrated, synthesized, and applied in criminology, law, and social justice. Milovanovic first familiarizes readers with discourse analysis (Lacanian), chaos theory, catastrophe theory, and edgework theory. Next, he covers various practical applications through literature and film, in client-lawyer practices, etc. These new critical perspectives will be invaluable tools for scholars in law, criminology, criminal justice, sociology, and law enforcement.These theories shed light on how nonmaterially motivated forms of crime, those that provide adrenalin rushes or excitement, can be understood. They help to explain the development of sudden forms of violence, such as criminal acts by disgruntled workers, as well as how mediation practices can curtail such escalating violence. Milovanovic also demonstrates how constitutive theorizing can serve as an umbrella integrative theory, which provides sufficient space for various syntheses. A case-in-point is how edgework theory (adrenalin rush, excitement, visceral experiences) can be understood in criminology and in the establishment of social justice.

Revolution in Penology is a thoroughly original and thought-provoking critique of penal harm, the recursive pains of imprisonment cycle, and the normalization of violence. Relying on selected insights derived from continental philosophy, cultural studies, and chaos theory, internationally renowned social theorists, Bruce A. Arrigo and Dragan Milovanovic, deconstruct the human agency/social structure duality that sustains the prison form, its parts and segments understood as correctional principles/practices, and the prison industrial complex that is informed by and stands above them all.

Revolution in Penology is a thoroughly original and thought-provoking critique of penal harm, the recursive pains of imprisonment cycle, and the normalization of violence. Relying on selected insights derived from continental philosophy, cultural studies, and chaos theory, internationally renowned social theorists, Bruce A. Arrigo and Dragan Milovanovic, deconstruct the human agency/social structure duality that sustains the prison form, its parts and segments understood as correctional principles/practices, and the prison industrial complex that is informed by and stands above them all.

Provides the first applications of constitutive criminology, a theoretical framework inspired by postmodernism, to specific areas of criminological practice.Constitutive Criminology at Work reveals the value of applying postmodernist-informed constitutive criminology to issues of crime and justice. A holistic, integrated criminological theory, constitutive criminology takes serious account of the interrelated contributions of human agency and social forces and argues that crime is an integral part of the total material and cultural production of society. Consequently, analysis and control of crime cannot be separated from the wider structural and cultural contexts in which it is produced.This book argues that constitutive criminology can ultimately help society out of its obsession with the crime and punishment cycle. Based on applications and empirical research within the theoretical framework first presented in the editors' earlier volume, Constitutive Criminology: Beyond Postmodernism, this new book brings together scholars and practitioners who have applied constitutive theory to specific areas of crime and justice practice. It extends development of the constitutive project by drawing together studies that found constitutive theory helpful in understanding distinct problems in the applied world of crime and justice.[Contributors include Bruce Arrigo, Gregg Barak, Mary Bosworth, John Brigham, Dion Dennis, Victor E. Kappeler, Peter Kraska, Lisa Sanchez, Robert Schehr, Jim Thomas, James Williams, and T. R. Young.]

Brings the insights of postmodernism to the concerns of criminology and includes examples of how social theory can function in the real-world realm of criminal law. Winner of the 2005 Outstanding Book Award presented by the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsWinner of the 2005 Outstanding Book Award presented by the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems This is the first comprehensive, accessible, and integrative overview of postmodernism's contribution to law, criminology, and social justice. The book begins by reviewing the major contributions of eleven prominent figures responsible for the development of French postmodern social theory. This "first" wave includes Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Hélène Cixous, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Félix Guattari, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, and Jean-François Lyotard. Their respective insights are then linked to "second" wave scholars who have appropriated their conceptualizations and applied them to pressing issues in law, crime, and social justice research. Compelling and concrete examples are provided for how affirmative and integrative postmodern inquiry can function meaningfully in the world of criminal justice. Topics explored include confinement law and prison resistance; critical race theory and a jurisprudence of color; media/literary studies and feminism; restorative justice and victim-offender mediation processes; and the emergence of social movements, including innocence projects and intentional communities.

Brings the insights of postmodernism to the concerns of criminology and includes examples of how social theory can function in the real-world realm of criminal law. Winner of the 2005 Outstanding Book Award presented by the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsWinner of the 2005 Outstanding Book Award presented by the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems This is the first comprehensive, accessible, and integrative overview of postmodernism's contribution to law, criminology, and social justice. The book begins by reviewing the major contributions of eleven prominent figures responsible for the development of French postmodern social theory. This "first" wave includes Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Hélène Cixous, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Félix Guattari, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, and Jean-François Lyotard. Their respective insights are then linked to "second" wave scholars who have appropriated their conceptualizations and applied them to pressing issues in law, crime, and social justice research. Compelling and concrete examples are provided for how affirmative and integrative postmodern inquiry can function meaningfully in the world of criminal justice. Topics explored include confinement law and prison resistance; critical race theory and a jurisprudence of color; media/literary studies and feminism; restorative justice and victim-offender mediation processes; and the emergence of social movements, including innocence projects and intentional communities.

Constitutive Criminology offers an affirmative, holistic approach to the study of crime. Taking as its starting point that individuals not only shape the world but are shaped by it, this book argues that the behaviours of those who offend and victimize others cannot be understood in isolation from the society of which they are a part.

Instead of setting out to identify factors that cause offending, constitutive criminology examines the co-production of crime by human subjects and by the social and organizational structures that humans develop. The implications are, first, that crime must be deconstructed as a recurrent discursive process and, secondly, that conscious attempts must be made at reconstruction with a view to preventing recurrence. In constrast with the sceptical versions of postmodernism that pervade the social sciences and humanities Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic focus on reconstruction and redirection. Drawing together disparate perspectives,they analyze a number of key themes, including: human nature and behaviour; society and social order; the role of the law; the definitions of crime; crime causation; and justice policy and practice.

Constitutive Criminology offers an affirmative, holistic approach to the study of crime. Taking as its starting point that individuals not only shape the world but are shaped by it, this book argues that the behaviours of those who offend and victimize others cannot be understood in isolation from the society of which they are a part.

Instead of setting out to identify factors that cause offending, constitutive criminology examines the co-production of crime by human subjects and by the social and organizational structures that humans develop. The implications are, first, that crime must be deconstructed as a recurrent discursive process and, secondly, that conscious attempts must be made at reconstruction with a view to preventing recurrence. In constrast with the sceptical versions of postmodernism that pervade the social sciences and humanities Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic focus on reconstruction and redirection. Drawing together disparate perspectives,they analyze a number of key themes, including: human nature and behaviour; society and social order; the role of the law; the definitions of crime; crime causation; and justice policy and practice.

An eye for an eye, the balance of the scales – for centuries, these and other traditional concepts exemplified the public’s perception of justice. Today, popular culture, including television shows like Law and Order, informs the public’s vision. But do age-old symbols, portrayals in the media, and existing systems truly represent justice in all of its nuanced forms, or do we need to think beyond these notions? The second edition of Social Justice: Theories, Issues, and Movements responds to the need for a comprehensive introduction to these issues.  Theories of social justice are presented in an accessible fashion to encourage engagement of students, activists, and scholars with these important lines of inquiry. Issues are analyzed utilizing various theories for furthering engagement in possibilities. Struggles for justice -- from legal cases to on the ground movements -- are presented for historical context and to inform the way forward.