In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crimes

by Barbara Perry

In The Name of Hate is the first book to offer a comprehensive theory of hate crimes, arguing for an expansion of the legal definitions that most states in the U.S. hold. Barbara Perry provides an historical understanding of hate crimes and provocatively argues that hate crimes are not an aberration of current society, but rather a by-product of a society still grappling with inequality, difference, fear, and hate.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2001

About the author

Barbara Perry, PhD is a Professor in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She has written extensively on social justice generally, and hate crime specifically. She has published several books spanning both areas, including:

Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada
In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crime
She has also published in the area of Native American victimization and social control, including the books The Silent Victims: Native American Victims of Hate Crime, and Policing Race and Place: Under- and Over-enforcement in Indian Country. Both books were based on interviews with Native Americans (University of Arizona Press). She was the General Editor of a five-volume set on hate crime (Praeger), and editor of Volume 3: Victims of Hate Crime of that set. Her work has been published in a number of journals that represent diverse disciplines, including:

American Indian Quarterly
Journal of History and Politics
Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Theoretical Criminology
Dr. Perry continues to work in the area of hate crime, and has begun to make contributions to the limited scholarship on hate crime in Canada, including work on anti-Muslim violence, hate crime against LGBTQ communities, the community impacts of hate crime, and right-wing extremism in Canada.

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of hate violence, both its study and its manifestations in American society circa 2001 (pre 9/11). Could have been more comprehensive in certain breakdowns of how violence manifests itself as well as propose stronger, original ideas. Overall however, I recommend for anyone who is new to hate crime studies or has a budding interest!! While the book is dated in its sources and recommendations, it's social and policy analysis are still relevant in 2021.