SOC205H5 Lecture : Soc205 Lecture 5
Document Summary
Assessing label theory: critiqued statistics, questions relations of power, brought data to bear on two principal propositions, extralegal factors, not behaviour alone, shapes who is labeled, labeling increased criminal involvement, positivist criticism, labeling theory"s major tenants wilted when subjected to empirical test, the perspective"s popularity has less to do with its empirical adequacy and more to do with its voicing a provocative message and that meshed with the social times, does not discuss how individuals overcome labels. Braithwaite"s theory of shaming and crime: central to social control is shaming, shaming can be, disintegrative, stigmatizes and excludes, thereby creating a class of outcasts, branded as a criminal beyond forgiveness which leads to a further entrenchment into crime since denied employment and other legitimate opportunities, reintegrative, an illegal act initially evokes community disapproval bur then is followed by attempts to reintegrate the offender back into the community through words or gestures of forgiveness.
