Citation

Valier C. Br. J. Criminol. 2003; 43(1): 1-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/bjc/43.1.1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article explores the conceptual significance of changing mobilities to theories of crime and punishment through a critique of the work of scholars from the Chicago school of sociology. The argument presented demonstrates that the concepts of social disorganization, differential association and culture conflict are part of the colonial and national histories of the United States of America. The argument is advanced that these classic concepts are implicated in the processes by which this nation demarcated its nationals from foreigners'. Furthermore, the increasing pace, scope, and complexity of a range of globalizing processes questions the continuing validity of the Chicagoan paradigm. Simply put, modern distinctions between us' and them', as well as here' and there', are undergoing substantial transformation. Reconfigurations of such profound significance call for a critical engagement with the scholarly literature on contemporary mobilities, identities and forms of belonging.