The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society

The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society is the premier reference book on gangs for practitioners, policymakers, students, and scholars. This carefully curated volume contains 43 chapters written by the leading experts in the field, who advance a central theme of "looking back, moving forward" by providing state-of-the-art reviews of the literature they created, shaped, and (re)defined. This international, interdisciplinary collective of authors provides readers with a rare tour of the field in its entirety, expertly navigating thorny debates and the at-times contentious history of gang research, while simultaneously synthesizing flourishing areas of study that advance the field into the 21st century. The volume is divided into six cohesive sections that reflect the diverse field of gang studies and capture the large-scale cultural, economic, political, and social changes occurring within the world of gangs in the last century; anticipating immense changes on the horizon. From definitions to history to theory to epistemology to technology to policy and practice, this unprecedented volume captures the most timely and important topics in the field. From curious outsiders to longstanding insiders, this volume will appeal to anyone with an interest in gangs. The editors assembled a cast of the best scholars shaping how the field thinks about gangs. The content is fresh, timely, and informative, appealing to everyone from the armchair theorist to the federal policymaker. It is truly a one-stop shop for anyone seeking the most up-to-date information on gangs, written by experts who approach the topic from very different disciplinary orientations, methodological approaches, and theoretical perspectives. When readers finish this book, they will be more confident in what we know and do not know about gangs in our society.

David Pyrooz is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the author of four books, including On Gangs and Competing for Control: Gangs and the Social Order of Prisons, the latter of which received the Outstanding Book Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. James Densley is Professor and Department Chair of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Metro State University. Densley is the author of eight books, including How Gangs Work and On Gangs; more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals; and over 100 book chapters, essays, and other works in outlets such as Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. John Leverso is an Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati in the School of Criminal Justice. He is a sociological criminologist whose research investigates the urban street gang and later life consequences of justice involvement focusing on race/ethnicity, gender, and interactions on the digital street.