By T. Markus Funk

Determining an offender’s criminal culpability is an evergreen challenge. It demands a careful blending of the offender’s moral responsibility for the crime and the offense’s identifiable harmful impacts on its individual victims and on society. Far from a mere abstract or occasional theoretical exercise, this process represents a critical iterative stage before charges can be filed, findings of legal guilt rendered, or sentences imposed.

Prosecutors, judges, and other participants in the criminal justice system manage millions of criminal cases a year. In each instance, they must grapple with the weighty responsibility of determining an offender's criminal accountability and blameworthiness. The decisions made in these deliberations have profound real-world consequences. They affect not only individual cases but also influence broader societal morality and cohesion. Indictments are issued, guilty verdicts pronounced, prison sentences handed down, and punishments justified based on these intrinsically imprecise and largely retrospective assessments.

This Article contends that the current mainstream approach to criminal culpability takes an unnecessarily narrow view. More specifically, it argues that criminal conduct involves two distinct forms of injury to the victim. One form of injury, physical or emotional harm to victims, is widely acknowledged. However, the other form, the wronging by imposing unequal standing on the victim, has been unjustly overlooked, with significant societal implications.

Our current failure to properly account for the antisocial self-elevation inherent in almost all crimes as a separate and distinct injury has significant implications. It prevents us from accurately describing the crime that was committed, the offense’s full spectrum of adverse impacts on the victim and society, or why a particular punishment is appropriate. More importantly, a justice system that fails to effectively protect our equal standing and associated legal interests virtually ensures that the erosion of the rule of law will soon follow.

Reevaluating how we define and publicly articulate criminal culpability holds the promise of positive real-world impacts. By more effectively communicating the full extent of an offender’s injury to a victim and society, we materially enhance criminal punishment’s crucial expressive, evaluative, descriptive, and conduct-directing objectives. From a systemic perspective, the proposed victim-centric approach advances the justice system’s ability to foster the equality-supporting civic bonds and shared social norms essential for a thriving society.

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By ERVING GOFFMAN

"STIGMA: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity" delves into the intricate dimensions of societal perceptions and self-perceptions. Authored by renowned sociologist Erving Goffman, this seminal work explores the concept of stigma and its profound impact on individuals and communities. Goffman's profound insights shed light on how stigmatized individuals navigate a world marked by prejudice and discrimination. Drawing from compelling case studies and astute analysis, "STIGMA" challenges readers to rethink their views on identity, acceptance, and the power dynamics that shape our interactions. A thought-provoking and enlightening read for anyone interested in psychology, sociology, or the human experience.

Prentice-Hall, Inc.. Englewood Gliffs, N.J. 1965. 167p.

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By Willam G. Staples

In "The Culture of Surveillance: Discipline and Social Control in the United States," readers are invited to delve into the intricate web of surveillance practices that shape modern American society. From the omnipresence of security cameras to the extensive monitoring of online activities, this book explores how surveillance mechanisms permeate various facets of daily life, influencing individual behavior and societal norms.

Through a critical lens, the author examines the implications of this pervasive culture of surveillance on concepts of privacy, freedom, and social control. By uncovering the mechanisms through which surveillance operates as a form of discipline, the book challenges readers to question the power dynamics at play and reflect on the implications for democracy and individual autonomy.

"The Culture of Surveillance" offers a thought-provoking analysis of how surveillance practices not only monitor but also mold behavior, shedding light on the complex interplay between technology, power, and control in the United States. This timely exploration serves as a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of contemporary society and the challenges posed by the ever-evolving culture of surveillance.

St. Martin's Press, 1997, 144 pages

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By Paul Fussell

In his thought-provoking book "Class," Paul Fussell delves into the intricate world of social hierarchies and distinctions. Through keen observation and meticulous analysis, Fussell explores how class permeates every aspect of society, from language and fashion to education and values. Drawing on examples from literature, history, and everyday life, he uncovers the unspoken rules and codes that govern social interactions and shape our perceptions of one another. A fascinating and insightful read, "Class" challenges readers to reflect on their own place within the complex tapestry of social class.

Simon and Schuster, 1992, 239 pages

By Christine Stewart.

Criminalising Consensual Sex in Papua New Guinea by Christine Stewart. Papua New Guinea is one of the many former British Commonwealth colonies which maintain the criminalisation of the sexual activities of two groups, despite the fact that the sex takes place between consenting adults in private: sellers of sex and males who have sex with males. The English common law system was imposed on the colonies with little regard for the social regulation and belief systems of the colonised, and in most instances, was retained and developed post-Independence, regardless of the infringements of human rights involved.

CANBERRA. ANU Press (2014) 334 pages.

By Norbert Elias.

The Civilizing Process stands out as Norbert Elias' greatest work, tracing the 'civilizing' of manners and personality in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and showing how this was related to the formation of states and the monopolization of power within them. It comprises the two volumes originally published in English as The History of Manners and State Formation and Civilization, now, in a single volume, the book is restored to its original format and made available world-wide to a new generation of readers.

NY. Pantheon (1978) 325p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Talcott Parsons

The giant of social theory explains how societies work. From the preface: The present volume is an attempt to bring together, in systematic and generalized form, the main outlines of a conceptual scheme for the analysis of the structure and processes of social systems. In the nature of the case, within the frame of reference of action, such a conceptual scheme must focus on the delineation of the system of institutionalized roles and the motivational processes organized about them. “

The Free Press Of Glencoe Collier-Macmillan Limited, London. 1951. 596p.
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By Thomas Ruys Smith

In 1836 Benjamin Drake, a midwestern writer of popular sketches for newspapers of the day, introduced his readers to a new and distinctly American rascal who rode the steamboats up and down the Mississippi and other western waterways—the riverboat gambler. These men, he recorded, “dress with taste and elegance; carry gold chronometers in their pockets; and swear with the most genteel precision. . . . Every where throughout the valley, these mistletoe gentry are called by the original, if not altogether classic, cognomen of ‘Black-legs.’” In Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men, Thomas Ruys Smith collects nineteenth-century stories, sketches, and book excerpts by a gallery of authors to create a comprehensive collection of writings about the riverboat gambler.

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 2010. 288p.

By Donna T. Andrew

Aristocratic Vice examines the outrage against—and attempts to end—the four vices associated with the aristocracy in eighteenth-century England: duelling, suicide, adultery, and gambling. Each of the four, it was commonly believed, owed its origin to pride. Many felt the law did not go far enough to punish those perpetrators who were members of the elite. In this exciting new book, Andrew explores each vice’s treatment by the press at the time and shows how a century of public attacks on aristocratic vices promoted a sense of “class superiority” among the soon-to-emerge British middle class.

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013. 328p.

By Bronislaw Malinowski.

This great classic established the basic methodology for modern anthropology. As Malinowski observed at the end of his book: "The true problem is not to study how human life submits to rules; the real problem is how the rules become adapted to life." On that question, he has left us richly inspired to continue the quest.

Harcourt (1926) 156 pages.

Edited by Margaret Jolly and Christine Stewart with Carolyn Brewer.

This collection builds on previous works on gender violence in the Pacific, but goes beyond some previous approaches to ‘domestic violence’ or ‘violence against women’ in analysing the dynamic processes of ‘engendering’ violence in PNG. ‘Engendering’ refers not just to the sex of individual actors, but to gender as a crucial relation in collective life and the massive social transformations ongoing in PNG: conversion to Christianity, the development of extractive industries, the implanting of introduced models of justice and the law and the spread of HIV. Hence the collection examines issues of ‘troubled masculinities’ as much as ‘battered women’ and tries to move beyond the black and white binaries of blaming either tradition or modernity as the primary cause of gender violence. It relates original scholarly research in the villages and towns of PNG to questions of policy and practice and reveals the complexities and contestations in the local translation of concepts of human rights. It will interest undergraduate and graduate students in gender studies and Pacific studies and those working on the policy and practice of combating gender violence in PNG and elsewhere. Canberra:

Australian National University Press, 2012. 308p.

By Jolanta Sikorska-Kulesza.

Prostitution in the Kingdom of Poland in the Nineteenth Century. Translated by Julita Mastalerz. “Relevant literature portrays the 19th century as a period of an unprecedented development of prostitution. Brothel houses and streetwalkers were an integral part of capitalist urban landscape. According to contemporaneous observers of social life, women rendering paid sexual services in European metropolises such as London, Paris, Berlin and St. Petersburg were counted by the thousand, or even hundreds of thousand, and were regularly availed of by married and single men.”

Peter Lang (2020) 358p.

By S. Giora Shoham.

Criminologists, it has been said, are "kings without countries,- for their territories have never been deline-ated..Because the clashes between human behavior and criminal law norms do not constitute a clearly defined behavioral entity, criminology must draw its basic concepts and methodology from the behavi-oral sciences, biology, and, to some extent, the history and sociology of criminal law. A bold synthesis of the various related disciplines is, therefore, essential. Professor Shlomo Shoham has, in Crime and Social Deviation, undertaken such a synthesis, utilizing a unique theoretical approach to the causes and treatment of crime, delinquency, and deviation. Says Professor Hermann Mannheim in the preface to this work: "Shoham combines his unmistakable gift for constructive theorizing and classifying, for thinking in terms of abstract models and types, with painstaking and realistic empirical research for which his native country of Israel, small as it is, offers an apparently inexhaustible wealth of problems and material."

NY. Harrow and Heston Publishers. 2012. 267 pages.

By N.E. Haas.

Why can vigilantes count on public support? Why do citizens in certain cases oppose the formal prosecution and punishment of vigilantes? Are such reactions an indication of lacking confidence in the criminal justice system? Or do situational aspects perhaps also play a role? The goal of this dissertation is to explain public support for vigilantism. In two studies, respondents were presented with a fictional case about vigilantism and answered related questions. The findings of both studies show that support for vigilantism cannot be interpreted automatically as a sign that confidence in the criminal justice system is lacking: situational characteristics have an independent influence on support. The results also reveal that support for vigilantism is a complex concept. People are not simply for or against vigilantism; responses to vigilantism are more nuanced. People can for instance feel little empathy for the victim of vigilantism, but at the same time express a desire for punishment of the vigilante. Additionally, a higher level of confidence in the courts and criminal justice system led to less support for vigilantism, while confidence in police did not play a role. Lastly, general support for vigilantism was an important predictor of support for a specific case.

Leiden: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), 2010. 197p.

By Steven C. Hughes.

Following its creation as a country in 1861, Italy experienced a wave of dueling that led commentators to bemoan a national “duellomania” evidenced by the sad spectacle of a duel a day. Pamphlets with titles like “Down with the Duel” and “The Shame of the Duel” all communicated the passion of those who could not believe that a people supposedly just returned to the path of progress and civilization had wholeheartedly embraced such a “barbaric” custom. Yet these critics were consistently countered by sober-minded men of rank and influence who felt that the duel was necessary for the very health of the new nation. Steven C. Hughes argues that this extraordinary increase in chivalric combat occurred because the duel played an important role in the formation, consolidation, and functioning of united Italy. The code of honor that lay at the heart of the dueling ethic offered a common model and bond of masculine identity for those patriotic elites who, having created a country of great variety and contrast for often contradictory motives, had to then deal with the consequences. Thus dueling became an iconic weapon of struggle during the Risorgimento, and, as Italy performed poorly on the stage of great power politics, it continued to offer images of martial valor and manly discipline. It also enhanced the social and political power of the new national elites, whose monopoly over chivalric honor helped reinforce the disenfranchisement of the masses. Eventually, the duel fed into the hypermasculinity and cult of violence that marked the early fascist movement, but in the end it would prove too individualistic in its definition of honor to stand up to the emerging totalitarian state. Although Mussolini would himself fight five duels at the start of his career, the duel would disappear along with the liberal regime that had embraced it.

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2007. 360p.

Edited by Maria Isabel Romero-Ruiz and Pilar Cuder-Domínguez.

A Mediterranean Approach to the Anglosphere. This Open Access book considers the cultural representation of gender violence, vulnerability and resistance with a focus on the transnational dimension of our contemporary visual and literary cultures in English. Contributors address concepts such as vulnerability, resilience, precarity and resistance in the Anglophone world through an analysis of memoirs, films, TV series, and crime and literary fiction across India, Ireland, Canada, Australia, the US, and the UK. Chapters explore literary and media displays of precarious conditions to examine whether these are exacerbated when intersecting with gender and ethnic identities, thus resulting in structural forms of vulnerability that generate and justify oppression, as well as forms of individual or collective resistance and/or resilience. Substantial insights are drawn from Animal Studies, Critical Race Studies, Human Rights Studies, Post-Humanism and Postcolonialism.

Cham: Springer Nature, 2022. 241p.

Edited by Vincent Buskens, RenseCorten, and Chris Snijders.

Theory, Experiments, and Field Studies. . The book identifies conditions for trust and cooperation. It highlights unintended consequences of individually rational behavior, and shows how trust and cooperation change dependent on social embeddedness. Such analyses inspire experimental tests in lab conditions, but also tests through empirical applications in field studies. The results of this mixed-method approach can in turn be used to inspire further theoretical work.

Berlin; Boston: de Gruyter, 2020. 557p.

Edited by Tiina Mäntymäki, Marinella Rodi-Risberg, and Anna Foka.

Cultural, Linguistic and Literary Approaches to Narratives of Femininity. This multidisciplinary collection of articles illuminates the ways in which the concept of female deviance is represented, appropriated, re-inscribed and refigured in a wide range of texts across time, cultures and genres. Such a choice of variety shows that representations of deviance accommodate meaning-making spaces and possibilities for resistance in different socio-cultural and literary contexts. The construct of the deviant woman is analysed from literary, sociolinguistic and historical-cultural perspectives, revealing insights about cultures and societies. Furthermore, the studies recognise and explain the significance of the concept of deviance in relation to gender that bespeaks a contemporary cultural concern about narratives of femininity.

Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2014. 242p.