Gangs and Society

by Kontos, Louis

• ISBN13: 9780231121415
• ISBN10: 0231121415
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

Compiled by three leading experts in the psychological, sociological, and criminal justice fields, this volume addresses timely questions from an eclectic range of positions. The product of a landmark conference on gangs, Gangs and Society brings together the work of academics, activists, and community leaders to examine the many functions and faces of gangs today. Analyzing the spread of gangs from New York to Texas to the West Coast, the book covers such topics as the spirituality of gangs, the place of women in gang culture, and the effect on gangs of a variety of educational programs and services for at-risk youth. The final chapter examines the "gang-photography phenomenon" by looking at the functions and politics of different approaches to gang photography and features a photographic essay by Donna DeCesare, an award-winning journalist.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
PART 1 THEORY AND METHODOLOGY	1	(74)
A Note on Social Theory and the American Street Gang	3	(9)
Sudhir Venkatesh
Toward a Typology of Contemporary Mexican American Youth Gangs	12	(29)
Avelardo Valdez
The Negligible Role of Gangs in Drug Distribution in New York City in the 1990s	41	(21)
Ric Curtis
Marginal Youth, Personal Identity, and the Contemporary Gang: Reconstructing the Social World?	62	(13)
Kevin McDonald
PART 2 GANGS AND POLITICS	75	(42)
Gangs and the Contemporary Urban Struggle: An Unappreciated Aspect of Gangs	77	(18)
Albert Dichiara
Russell Chabot
Urban Street Activists: Gang and Community Efforts to Bring Peace and Justice to Los Angeles Neighborhoods	95	(22)
Juan Francisco Esteva Martinez
PART 3 GANGS, AGENCY, AND AT-RISK YOUTH	117	(42)
The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation and the Spirituality of Resistance: Agency, Social Cohesion, and Liberating Rituals in the Making of a Street Organization	119	(17)
Luis Barrios
Education in the Reform of Street Organizations in New York City	136	(23)
David Brotherton
PART 4 WOMEN AND GANGS	159	(52)
Liberating Yet Limiting: The Paradox of Female Gang Membership	161	(22)
Dana Nurge
Amor de Reina! The Pushes and Pulls of Group Membership among the Latin Queens	183	(28)
David Brotherton
Camila Salazar-Atias
PART 5 GANGS AND SOCIAL CONTROL	211	(42)
Gangs and the Law	213	(15)
Loren Siegel
The Gang Crackdown in the Prisons of Massachusetts: Arbitrary and Harsh Treatment Can Only Make Matters Worse	228	(25)
Phillip Kassel
PART 6 GANGS AND PHOTOGRAPHY	253	(84)
On the Subject of Gang Photography	255	(28)
Richard Rodriguez
From Civil War to Gang War: The Tragedy of Edgar Bolanos	283	(31)
Donna DeCesare
Snapshots of a Movement: The New York Latin Kings and Queens 1996--99	314	(23)
Steve Hart
David Brotherton
Contributors	337	(4)
Index	341