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.