Gangs and Society: Alternative Perspectives

by Louis Kontos, David C. Brotherton , Ph.D., Luis Barrios Ph.D.

Overview

Compiled by three leading experts in the psychological, sociological, and criminal justice fields, this volume addresses timely questions from an eclectic range of positions. The product of a landmark conference on gangs, Gangs and Society brings together the work of academics, activists, and community leaders to examine the many functions and faces of gangs today. Analyzing the spread of gangs from New York to Texas to the West Coast, the book covers such topics as the spirituality of gangs, the place of women in gang culture, and the effect on gangs of a variety of educational programs and services for at-risk youth. The final chapter examines the "gang-photography phenomenon" by looking at the functions and politics of different approaches to gang photography and features a photographic essay by Donna DeCesare, an award-winning journalist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231121408
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2003
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Louis Kontos is an associate professor of sociology at Long Island University, C. W. Post campus. David C. Brotherton is an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center.

Luis Barrios is an assistant professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. With David Brotherton, he co-authored Between Black and Gold: The Street Politics of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Columbia 2003).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Theory and Methodology
A Note on Social Theory and the American Street Gang, by Sudhir Venkatesh
Gangs and Politics
Toward a Typology of Contemporary Mexican American Youth Gangs, by Avelardo Valdez
Gangs, Agency, and At-risk Youth
The Negligible Role of Gangs in Drug Distribution in New York City in the 1990s, by Ric Curtis
Women and Gangs
Marginal Youth, Personal Identity, and the Contemporary Gang: Reconstructing the Social World?, by Kevin McDonald
Gangs and Social Control
Gangs and the Contemporary Urban Struggle: An Unappreciated Aspect of Gangs, by Albert DiChiara and Russell Chabot
Gangs and Photography
Urban Street Activists: Gang and Community Efforts to Bring Justice to Los Angeles Neighborhoods, by Juan Francisco Esteva Martinez
7. The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation and the Spirituality of Resistance: Agency Social Cohesion and Liberating Rituals in the Making of a Street Organization., by Luis Barrios
8. Education in the Reform of Street Organizations in New York City, by David Brotherton
Liberating yet Limiting: The Paradox of Female Gang Membership, by Dana Nurge
Amor de Reina! The Pushes and Pulls of Group Membership among the Latin Queens, by David Brotherton and Camila Salazar-Atias
Gangs and the Law, by Loren Siegel
The Gang Crackdown in the Prisons of Massachusetts: Arbitrary and Harsh Treatment Can Only Make Matters Worse, by Phillip Kassel
On the Subject of Gang Photography, by Richard Rodriguez
From Civil War to Gang War: The Tragedy of Edgar Bolanos, by Donna DeCesare
Snapshots of a Movement: The New York Latin Kings and Queens 1996–99, by Steve Hart and David Brotherton

What People are Saying About This

Joan Moore

Challenges much conventional wisdom about gangs and fills a long-standing gap.... Many of the pieces-most conspicuously those on photojournalism-offer a fresh perspective in the often stale scholarly discourse on this most political of criminological topics.

— Joan Moore, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

William Kornblum

An outstanding set of articles that constitute a new look at an old phenomenon, the urban youth gang.

— William Kornblum, chair at the Center for Urban Research, professor of sociology at City University of New York Graduate Center

Editorial Reviews

From the Jets to the Bloods to the Latin Kings, gangs have long symbolized the roughest parts of urban America. Still, argues this collection of essays, crime and theft are just a part of what fuels their existence; gangs' roles in communities is far more complex.

City Limits

The popular image that depicts gangs as nothing more than criminal enterprises is too restrictive a picture.Gangs and Society moves beyond this tradition and instead represents an important advancement in understanding the role gangs play in some urban communities.... this work is certainly a meaningful addition to the existing gang literature.

Contemporary Sociology - Sean P. Varano

A refreshing anthology on gang life in the US. The editors have compiled fascinating, serious, and informative articles concerned with the theoretical and methodological contexts of gang research, women and gangs, links between gangs and politics, the problems of youth and gang life, and the social control of gangs... An excellent, very readable source. Highly recommended.

Choice

Finally! A solidly researched book that challenges the conservative academic dogma of gang members as incorrigible superpredators.... May this book provoke a great rethinking of all that is amiss in our society today.

Tom Hayden

The book's editors...do a remarkable job of highlighting the economic, political, social and cultural factors that impact the activities of gangs.

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare - Matthew T. Theriot

The book's editors...do a remarkable job of highlighting the economic, political, social and cultural factors that impact the activities of gangs.

— Matthew T. Theriot

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

The popular image that depicts gangs as nothing more than criminal enterprises is too restrictive a picture. Gangs and Society moves beyond this tradition and instead represents an important advancement in understanding the role gangs play in some urban communities.... this work is certainly a meaningful addition to the existing gang literature.

— Sean P. Varano

Contemporary Sociology