SOC 2760 Chapter : Kennedy - in course reader.docx

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2760
• Professor: Rob Shearer

Document Summary

Homicide in urban canada: testing the impact of economic inequality and social disorganization. Homicide in canada is regionally distributed, rising from east to west. The east-west phenomenon generally persists over time for personal and property crimes. Sociological research on regional differences in canadian society has emphasized the politicization of social and economic concerns. Specifically, higher levels of economic deprivation and social disorganization have placed regions of canada in positions of relative social disadvantage. This reading examines how this uneven distribution of social rewards corresponds with a breakdown of social relations and an increased incidence of crime. When studying regional effects on homicide using an alternative social economy explanation, it explains the etiology of violence in terms of the variation in inequality and social disorganization measured by such factors as aggregate unemployment, urbanization and poverty. Inequality theories emphasize the effects of status characteristics, such as income and prestige.