Social Control: An Introduction

What is social control? How do social controls become part of everyday life? What role does the criminal justice system play in exerting control? Is the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness a form of social control? Do we need more social controls to prevent terrorist atrocities? In this new edition of his popular and engaging introduction, James J. Chriss carefully guides readers through the debates about social control. The book provides a comprehensive guide to historical debates and more recent controversies, examining in detail the criminal justice system, medicine, everyday life, and national security. Assuming no specialist knowledge on the part of readers, he uses a rich range of contemporary examples to illustrate the ways in which social control is exerted and maintained. The updated edition includes new and expanded discussion of the 2011 Tucson shootings, post-9/11 counterterrorism laws after the death of Bin Laden, racial profiling and housing segregation, hate crimes, (counter)surveillance and flash mobs, the diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD, and agents of socialization in the areas of work, religion, and the media. This new edition of Social Control: An Introduction will be essential reading for students taking courses in deviance and social control, and will also appeal to those studying criminology, the sociology of law and medical sociology.