Creating Born Criminals
The groundbreaking criminologist's look at the biological theories of crime
Paper – $25
978-0-252-06741-9
Publication Date
Paperback: 01/01/1998
About the Book
Genetic screening, new reproductive technologies, gene therapies, and the reality of cloning make it seem possible we can find biological solutions to human social problems. Nicole Hahn Rafter shows how history can guide us in our response to the reemergence of eugenics. An astute social history of biological theories of crime, Creating Born Criminals examines the origins and content of the theories while showing their undue influence on crime control in the United States.About the Author
Nicole Hahn Rafter (1939-2016) was an emeritus professor of criminology and. criminal justice at Northeastern University. She is the author of Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society, second edition, and coauthor of The Criminal Brain: Understanding Biological Theories of Crime, second edition.Reviews
Blurbs
“A comprehensive historical review of biological theories of crime, with an emphasis on eugenics and the defective delinquent movements. Well written, with extensive citations to the relevant literature. Recommended."--Choice
"Solid scholarship, good thinking, and good reading. It should be of interest to a wide range of audiences."--Al Pisciotta, author of Benevolent Repression: Social Control and the American Reformatory-Prison Movement
"Extremely polished, graceful, and persuasive."--Ellen Dwyer, author of Homes for the Mad: Life inside Two Nineteenth-Century Asylums
Awards
Winner of the Hervey B. Wilbur Historic Preservation Award given by the American Association on Mental Retardation, 1999.Related Titles
