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46 Crime L. & Soc. Change 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/crmlsc46 and id is 1 raw text is: Crime Law Soc Change (2006) 46:1-2 DOI 10.1007/s10611-006-9043-3 Introduction: against narrow, distorted, fossilized, and unconscious adaptations of sociological theory - gains for criminology Joachim J. Savelsberg Published online: 2 November 2006 © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2006 Four innovative papers by Matsueda, Savelsberg, Hagan/Foster/Schulman, and Cooney, and an inspiring discussion by James F. Short, Jr. are intended to bring new inspiration to criminology. They originate from a panel held at the 57th Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology, 2005 in Toronto, capably chaired by Ryan D. King (SUNY Albany). The session's title is captured in the title to this introduction. Each of the four papers and the discussant are inspired by the will to counter the kinds of forces addressed in the title, and each of the papers assembled here approaches this challenge in its own way. Ross Matsueda contributes an impressive example of counteracting the narrowing, distortion, and fossilizing of sociological theory that occurs when complex theories are reduced by textbook simplifications or to convenient operationalizations of empirical researchers in criminology or other specialties alike. Matsueda goes back to a thorough reading of Sutherland and Mead; and he goes beyond them, tying them together with contemporary theories of collective action. He argues that Mead's theory can help us conceptualize (differential) organization in favor of, and against, crime as a form of collective behavior. Matsueda shows how contemporary models of collective behavior, social network ties, collective action frames, and threshold models of collective action may be creatively linked together; and he exemplifies the integrated theory for the cases of social movements against crime, neighborhood collective efficacy, and violence and the code of the street. A different path is pursued by Joachim Savelsberg who seeks to show the potential gains for criminology from linking up with diverse specializations in sociology, including ones that have so far not been explicitly but only subconsciously considered (for a previous effort see Savelsberg and Sampson eds. 2002). Specifically, Savelsberg argues that the sociology of knowledge is central but implicit in main strands of criminological theory, and that criminology can be much enriched if these links are explicated. He illustrates this thesis by applying the sociology of knowledge to the recent upsurge in terrorism around the globe. While a wave of globalization may provide a structural basis for the rise of terrorism across different regions of the world, the specific forms and targets of terrorism vary from J. J. Savelsberg (E) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA e-mail: savelsbg@atlas.socsci.umn.edu 41 Springer

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