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Fifty years ago, David Matza wrote Delinquency and Drift, challenging the ways people thought about the development of criminals. Today, Delinquency and Drift Revisited reminds criminologists that they ignore Matza's writings on culture and criminality, human agency and offending, and propensity and peer influences on criminal involvement at their own intellectual peril. This volume was not written to pay homage to Matza, but to show how his ideas remain relevant to criminology today by continuing to question conventional wisdom, by making us pay attention to realities we have overlooked, and by inspiring us to theorize more innovatively.
About the author
Thomas G. Blomberg is Dean and Sheldon L. Messinger Professor of Criminology and Executive Director of the Center for Criminology and Public Policy in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University.
Francis T. Cullen is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Associate in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati.
Christoffer Carlsson has a PhD in criminology from Stockholm University, Sweden, and is a researcher in criminology at The Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm.
Cheryl Lero Jonson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Xavier University.
Summary
Fifty years ago, David Matza wrote Delinquency and Drift, challenging the ways people thought about the development of criminals. Today, Delinquency and Drift Revisited reminds criminologists that they ignore Matza’s writings at their own intellectual peril.
Matza’s work shows his insights on a range of core criminological issues, such as: the complex nature of culture and its connection to criminality; the extent to which rule-breakers are truly different from the "rest of us"; the importance of focusing on human agency in understanding the subjective side of offending; the interaction of propensity and peer influences in criminal involvement; the role of the state in signifying individuals as deviant and entrapping them in criminal roles; and the processes that lead offenders to desist from crime.
This volume was not written to pay homage to Matza, but to show how his ideas remain relevant to criminology today by continuing to question conventional wisdom, by making us pay attention to realities we have overlooked, and by inspiring us to theorize more innovatively.
Additional text
Little did I expect in 1964 that Delinquency and Drift would remain an important work more than half a century later. It is heartening that the ideas expressed continue to have relevance for today's study of crime and delinquency. I enjoyed reading the volume, and I hope others will as well. —David Matza, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
For those unfamiliar with David Matza’s work, this thoughtful collection serves as an essential introduction. For those who know his work—or think they do—it serves as a reminder of how important Matza’s contribution has been. This is a timely and welcome exploration of the work of one of the most enduring criminologists of our time. —Elliot Currie, Professor, University of California, Irvine
The aptly titled volume Delinquency and Drift Revisited: The Criminology of David Matza and Beyond is a remarkable tribute to the importance of the work of David Matza to both the development and future of the conceptualization of deviance and crime. While many festschrifts glorify the past and emphasize the contributions of a scholar’s work to the present, the essays in this volume provide a framework for innovative future research in diverse areas based on Matza’s insights.—Marvin Krohn, Professor, University of Florida
