Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the superfund literature within an eco-critical theoretical context. While mainstream criminology tends to focus on individual explanations for why people commit crimes, the paper explains, this research examines a neglected dimension of the field. The paper notes that although environmental issues have received heightened attention in criminological literature, particularly over the past decade, little attention has been devoted to the development of a theoretical framework and appropriate propositions that define environmental crime, describe its possible causes and implications, and provide testable hypotheses from which the theory's effectiveness may be assessed.
The paper concludes that specific examinations of its failures within historical, political, and economic contexts reveal how the players involved in superfund contribute not only to its failure, but also to the further commission of environmental crimes.

Outline:
Introduction
Description and History of Superfund
Eco-Critical Theory and Criticisms of Superfund
Political Analysis of Superfund within the Framework of Eco-Critical Theory
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"First, it is the only way to determine its effectiveness, consistent with the notion of a successful criminological theory. Second, it will raise the consciousness criminologists with respect to environmental crime. More generally, the theory challenges conventional notions of crime and victimization, moving toward a non-speciest criminology. In light of the extent to which humans have damaged the Earth and harmed its inhabitants through their counter-ecological practices, environmental crime and victimization resulting from it should receive more attention within the discipline. Criminologists, particularly ones who are concerned with activist agendas, are effective in bringing their concerns to the mainstream media and the general public and even, on occasion, affecting policies. More rigorous research within an eco-critical perspective will lend credibility to the perspective and have a better chance of being accepted and influential outside the discipline."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barnett, H. (1994). Toxic Waste and the Superfund Dilemma. UNC Press: North Carolina.
• Barnett, H. (1999). The land ethic and environmental crime. Criminal Justice Policy Review, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 161-192.
• Caldicott, H. (1992). If you love this planet: A plan to heal the earth. New York: Norton.
• Chambliss, W.J. (1993). On lawmaking. In W.J. Chambliss & M.S. Zatz (Eds.) Making Law: The state, the law, and structural contradictions (pp. 229-260).Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• Clark, L., Barton, J.A., & Brown, N.J. (2002). Assessment of community contamination:a critical approach. Public Health Nursing, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 354-365.

Visitors who viewed this Research Paper also liked these:

• Analytical Essay # 129196 : "Eco-Critical Theory and its Relevance to Criminology"
• Term Paper # 133834 : "Application of Watson's Theory"
• Analytical Essay # 126865 : "Application of Middle Range Theory"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: