Homicide: A Sociological Explanation

by Leonard Beeghley

The American homicide rate remains dramatically higher than that in other Western nations. News of a murder has become a routine event. How do we explain such high levels of lethal violence in the world's leading democracy? Echoing Durkheim's Suicide, this book focuses on one important phenomenon to explain larger currents in American society. Leonard Beeghley examines the historical and cross-national dimensions of homicides and evaluates previous attempts to explain it. He finds the sources of America's murder rate in the greater availability of guns, the expansion of illegal drug markets, greater racial discrimination, more exposure to violence, and sharper economic inequalities. He deftly blends the evidence related to each of these factors into a well-reasoned sociological analysis of the nature of American society. Features Highlights how sociology can be used to explain problems and seek solutions Distinguishes between structural and social psychological levels of analysis Provides a constrasting perspective to Messner & Rosenfeld's widely assigned Crime and the American Dream Uses metaphors and analogies in order to make sociological ideas meaningful to students Employs an engaging writing style to place the analysis in the scholarly literature Offers clear explanations of Durkheim, Weber, Merton, and others, that show their usefulness for understanding modern life

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2003

About the author

Leonard Beeghley is Professor Emeritus of sociology at the University of Florida since 1975. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside in 1975 and has since published seven books over the course of his career. Two of these seven books, The Emergence of Sociological Theory and The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States "become standard references in the field." His interests include the relationships between social stratification, public policy and societal problems. He has been covering the socio-economic class structure of the United States in five volumes since 1978.

Reviews

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با جذابیت میزان قتل رو در آمریکا تحلیل آماری میکنه و نشون میده که این میزان در مقایسه با دیگر جوامع مدرن و توسعه یافته بسیار بالا، نگران کننده و نیازمند تحلیل و سپس تغییر است. نگارنده به خوبی ادبیات موجود -تحقیقات پیشین- رو در این باره بررسی می‌کنه و با یک سری از آنها همدل و با برخی، زاویه داره. نویسنده به واسطه ماهیت موضوع، نیاز به یک تحلیل چندمتغیره رو ایجاد می‌کنه و با مقدمه چینی فراوان که گاهی به تکرار میرسه، تحلیل خودش از بالا بودن میزان قتل در آمریکا رو پیشنهاد میده: (۱) دسترسی پذیری انواع اسلحه، (۲) گسترش بازارهای مواد مخدر غیرقانونی، (۳) تبعیض نژادی، (۴) قرارگیری در معرض خشنونت و (۵) نابرابری اقتصادی.

اگر به قاتلان سریالی آمریکایی و جامعه‌شناسی علاقه دارید، کتاب قابل پیشنهاد و قابل تاملی است.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Very informative.