Critical Criminology at the Edge: Postmodern Perspectives, Integration, and Applications

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.

DRAGAN MILOVANOVIC is Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern Illinois University. He is the editor of the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law.