
Language of the Gun
Youth, Crime, and Public Policy
Bernard E. Harcourt(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 15. February 2006
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-226-31608-6 (ISBN)
Description
Legal and public policies concerning youth gun violence tend to rely heavily on crime reports, survey data, and statistical methods. Rarely is attention given to the young voices belonging to those who carry high-powered semiautomatic handguns. In "Language of the Gun", Bernard E. Harcourt recounts in-depth interviews with youths detained at an all-male correctional facility, exploring how they talk about guns and what meanings they ascribe to them in a broader attempt to understand some of the assumptions implicit in current handgun policies. In the process, Harcourt redraws the relationships among empirical research, law, and public policy. Home to over 150 repeat offenders ranging in age from twelve to seventeen, the Catalina Mountain School is made up of a particular stratum of boys - those who have committed the most offenses but will still be released upon reaching adulthood. In an effort to understand the symbolic and emotional language of guns and gun carrying, Harcourt interviewed dozens of these incarcerated Catalina boys. What do these youths see in guns? What draws them to handguns? Why do some of them carry and others not?
For Harcourt, their often surprising answers unveil many of the presuppositions that influence our laws and policies.
For Harcourt, their often surprising answers unveil many of the presuppositions that influence our laws and policies.
Reviews / Votes
"Bernard Harcourt is surely one of the most creative scholars working at the intersection of law, social science, and policy. In Language of the Gun, he presents a fresh and empirical look at the meaning of guns for youths that helps shed new light on broader theoretical and policy issues." - Calvin Morrill, University of California, Irvine"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
482 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-31608-6 (9780226316086)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2010
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€49.89
Available for download
Person
Bernard E. Harcourt is professor of law at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Illusion of Order: The False Promise of Broken Windows Policing and the editor of Guns, Crime, and Punishment in America.