Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm - Softcover

This fascinating new volume compiled by Rowland Atkinson explores many of the central issues raised by "deviant" conduct, and exposes the problematic nature of the project that is criminology. This is a book about boundaries. The boundaries of: behaviour (transgressive, deviant, harmful or criminal); of public perception (the moral, immoral and amoral); and of social reaction (from censure to denial).

This book will be of huge value to students studying within, or on the boundaries between, criminology, criminological psychology, socio-legal studies and the sociology of deviance.

Shades of Deviance crackles with intellectual energy and the sparks of critical analysis. Chapter to chapter, it traverses a remarkable range of crime and deviance, from the most innocent of acts to the most egregious of offenses. Better yet, Shades of Deviance asks an essential question: which is which?

Shades of Deviance is a strikingly original collection of thought-provoking work by some of the most creative thinkers in criminology. It pushes boundaries, raises provocative questions, and will surely help to shape debates on deviance and social harm for years to come.

Elliott Currie, University of California, Irvine, USA

Shades of Deviance never loses its focus, it never shies away from a gritty or contested argument and it never allows the reader to lose interest. It is fast paced, moving and emotional. It is based in the here and now of the social world, without forgetting how we got here.

― Darren Woodward, Prison Service Journal

Written in a unique format, Shades of Deviance is a turbo-driven guide to crime and deviance, offering 56 politically engaged, thought-provoking and accessibly written accounts of a wide range of socially and legally prohibited acts. This book will be essential reading for undergraduate students in the fields of criminology and sociology and those preparing to embark on degree courses in these fields, as well as general readers.

Written by field-leading experts from across the globe and designed for those who want a clear and exciting introduction to the complex areas of crime and deviance, this book provides a large number of short overviews of a wide range of social problems, harms and criminal acts. Offering a series of cutting-edge and critical treatments of issues such as war and murder, paedophilia, ecocide, human experimentation, stalking and sexting, this book also gives a guide to further readings and suggestions for other media to develop the reader's understanding of these issues.?

Shades of Deviance requires readers to critically reconsider their ideas about what is right and wrong, about what is socially harmful and which problems we should focus our attention on. It also provides careful analysis and reasoned explanation of complex issues in a world in which sensationalist headlines, anxiety and fear about crime permeate our lives - read it to be prepared!