Ethnography at the Edge: Crime, Deviance, and Field Research

In This Provocative Work, pioneering criminologists and sociologists vividly recount the personal and professional tribulations of conducting field research with deviant and criminal subcultures. The candid, first-person accounts of their experiences, especially in illegal, immoral, and dangerous situations, reveal the horrors, perils, and joys of ethnographic research. The methodological, theoretical, and political implications of field work are also thoroughly discussed. Describing their deep involvement with such diverse groups as skinheads, phone sex workers, drag dealers, graffiti artists, and the homeless, many of the authors confess to their own episodes of illegal drag use, drunk driving, weapons violations, assault at gunpoint, obstruction of justice, and arrest while engaged in ethnographic studies.

Although field research is seldom safe, convenient, or above professional criticism, this volume demonstrates that it is vital for providing a fuller understanding of deviant and criminal populations.