Welcome to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2, where we’re unpacking Roger Hopkins Burke’s ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory.’ In Episode 13, we explore how biology and society intertwine to shape criminal behavior in the chapter on Socio-biological Theories of Crime and Deviance.

In this episode, we explore Chapter 13 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke, diving into socio-biological criminology — an integrated approach that bridges biology, psychology, and social environment in explaining crime.

🔬 Key topics include:

• The biosocial model, explaining how genetic predispositions, neurological conditions, and environmental triggers influence criminal tendencies
• Theories by Sarnoff Mednick and James Q. Wilson on how conscience and behavior develop through both inherited traits and social learning
• The role of early childhood adversity, including perinatal complications and parenting, in shaping deviant behavior
• Controversial topics like evolutionary theories of aggression and rape, and their place in modern criminological discourse
• The push toward a multifactorial explanation of crime, rejecting one-size-fits-all narratives

Whether you're prepping for the CSS exam or deepening your understanding of modern criminology, this episode equips you with a balanced and critical view of how science and society interact in the study of deviance.

Welcome back to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2, where we continue our journey through ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In this episode, we explore the critical criminology perspective and its focus on power, oppression, and harm."

In Episode 12, we delve into Chapter 12 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke — a chapter that introduces the transformative lens of critical criminology.

This episode unpacks:

📌 How critical criminology redefines crime as a form of oppression, often rooted in the structures of the political economy.

💼 The distinction between crimes of the powerful — like corporate and white-collar crime — and crimes of the marginalized, often criminalized through social exclusion and systemic inequality.

🧠 The evolution of thought from the late 1960s to today, especially how this school of criminology challenges earlier models like biological or psychological positivism.

🔍 The rise of zemiology, or the study of social harm, which argues that we should look beyond what’s legally defined as crime to include structural violence, exploitation, and widespread social injuries.

If you’re preparing for CSS and want to understand how power and justice interact in the real world, this episode offers essential insights.

You're listening to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. We’re exploring ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In this episode, we dive into feminist critiques of criminology and the gendered dimensions of crime and justice.

In Episode 11, we explore Chapter 11 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke, which brings a feminist lens to the study of crime and criminal justice.

This chapter challenges the traditional "malestream" criminology that has historically centered male experiences, often neglecting or misrepresenting female criminality.

We discuss:

♀️ The difference between biological sex and socially constructed gender, and why that matters in criminology.

📚 Various strands of feminist theory — including liberal, radical, Marxist, socialist, and Black feminism — each offering a distinct critique of how systems of oppression shape women’s experiences of crime, both as offenders and victims.

⚖️ The critique of earlier positivist theories of female offending and how feminist criminology has expanded the field to explore masculinities, power dynamics, and the gendered nature of justice systems.

Whether you're studying Criminology, Gender Studies, or Sociology for CSS, this episode helps you understand how gender influences not just who commits crime — but how crime is defined, prosecuted, and punished.

Welcome back to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. We’re exploring ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In Episode 10, we delve deeper into the structural roots of crime with conflict and radical criminological theories.

This episode, based on Chapter 10 of Roger Hopkins Burke’s An Introduction to Criminological Theory, explores the structural and ideological critiques offered by conflict and radical criminological theories.

We examine:

⚔️ Conflict Theories – Inspired by thinkers like Thorsten Sellin and George Vold, these theories argue that law and criminality are shaped by struggles between competing interest groups. Laws reflect the values of the powerful, often leading to the marginalization and criminalization of weaker or minority groups.

📉 Radical Criminology – Drawing heavily from Marxist ideology, this school of thought sees crime as an inevitable outcome of capitalist inequality. According to this view, the criminal justice system functions primarily to protect the interests of the ruling class, framing working-class deviance while overlooking corporate crime and structural violence.

🇬🇧 We also look at the New Criminology movement in the UK, which aimed to build a comprehensive understanding of deviance by integrating individual motivation with wider social structures. While this approach was ambitious, it has been critiqued for being too theoretical or idealistic.

For CSS aspirants preparing for Criminology, Sociology, or Political Science, this episode is a must-listen for understanding how power, inequality, and ideology shape both crime and its control.

You’re listening to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. We’re exploring ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In Episode 9, we dive into the victimised actor model of crime, with a special focus on labelling and conflict theories that challenge traditional notions of deviance."

In this episode, based on Chapter 9 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory, we explore the victimised actor model— a perspective that sees individuals as shaped by social structures and labels rather than inherently criminal or fully rational.

We unpack two foundational strands:

🔖 Labelling Theory – Rooted in symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, and ethnomethodology, this approach views deviance not as an intrinsic quality of an act, but as a label imposed by society. We explore how deviant identities are socially constructed, how labels lead to deviance amplification, and how moral panics influence public perception.

⚖️ Conflict Theory – Drawing from Marx, Weber, Simmel, and Dahrendorf, this perspective examines how power dynamics and inequality shape the legal system, influence which behaviors are criminalized, and highlight the selective application of justice.

We also touch on criticisms of these theories and their evolution in recent years.

Perfect for CSS candidates studying Criminology, Sociology, or Political Science, this episode challenges you to rethink how crime is defined — and who gets to define it.

Welcome to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. We’re covering ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In Episode 8, we explore how female criminality has been understood — and misunderstood — through the lens of classical positivist theories."

In this episode, we dive into Chapter 8 of Roger Hopkins Burke’s An Introduction to Criminological Theory, turning our attention to how criminological theories have approached female criminality—often with significant bias.

We examine three major strands of positivist criminology and their interpretations of women who commit crime:

🧬 Biological Positivism – including Lombroso’s outdated and disproven notions of women as biologically passive or atavistic criminals.

🧠 Psychological Positivism – analyzing perspectives from Freud and W.I. Thomas that linked crime in women to emotional instability, sexuality, or psychological dysfunction, often ignoring context.

🏘️ Sociological Positivism – exploring theories like anomie, subcultural theory, and differential association, while critiquing their male-centered assumptions and failure to account for the distinct social and economic conditions women face.

We also discuss the concept of “malestream criminology” — the historical dominance of male viewpoints in theory development — and why this matters for CSS aspirants seeking a complete and nuanced understanding of criminal behavior across genders.

This episode is key for anyone preparing for CSS exams in Criminology, Gender Studies, or Sociology, and for listeners interested in how theory often reflects — and distorts — real social dynamics.

Welcome back to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. In this season, we’re covering Roger Hopkins Burke’s ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory.’ In Episode 7, we shift focus to the sociological lens, exploring how society shapes crime and deviance.

In Episode 7, we dive into sociological positivism — a school of thought that views crime as a product of social structures and environments, not just individual traits.

Based on Chapter 7 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke, this episode unpacks major sociological theories including:

🌍 Durkheim’s Anomie and Social Disorganization – exploring how the breakdown of norms and regulation can foster deviant behavior.

🏙️ The Chicago School – analyzing how urban areas, especially "zones in transition," create the conditions for crime.

⚖️ Merton’s Strain Theory – explaining how the gap between societal goals and available means leads to deviant adaptations.

🎭 Deviant Subculture Theories – investigating how groups form around shared values that oppose mainstream norms, sustaining criminal behavior over time.

We also reflect on how poverty, inequality, urban decay, and community structures contribute to the persistence of crime, making these theories highly relevant for both CSS preparation and real-world policy analysis.

Welcome to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2. In this season, we’re unpacking ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory’ by Roger Hopkins Burke. In Episode 6, we explore the fascinating world of psychological theories of crime — diving into the inner mind to understand what drives criminal behavior.

In Episode 6, we journey into the psychological foundations of crime, as presented in Chapter 6 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke.

We examine how internal factors — thoughts, emotions, and early life experiences — influence criminal behavior, focusing on three major psychological approaches:

🧠 Psychodynamic Theories – rooted in Freud’s work, suggesting that unconscious conflicts, childhood trauma, and a weak conscience can predispose individuals to crime.

🐾 Behavioral Learning Theories – based on Pavlov, Skinner, and Eysenck, these explore how criminal behavior is learned through reinforcement, conditioning, and traits associated with antisocial personality disorder.

👥 Cognitive Learning Theories – including Gabriel Tarde, Edwin Sutherland, and Akers’ Social Learning Theory, emphasizing how people learn criminal behavior from social environments and peer influences.

We also touch on the role of cognitive-behavioral interventions in modern crime prevention and rehabilitation strategies.

This episode is ideal for CSS candidates, students of criminology, or anyone curious about how psychology meets justice.