ABSTRACT
The application of postmodern theory to criminology emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s. Since its inception, postmodern criminology has experienced considerable criticism because it challenges many of the taken-for-granted assumptions about science, knowledge, truth, and progress, and their respective relationships to crime, law, and justice. Critics of postmodern criminology observe that the theory's orientation and scope make it cumbersome to define with precision. Because postmodern criminology stresses how language (discourse) shapes reality about crime and criminals, it advocates for replacement ways of talking about law, social control, deviance, punishment, and policing. One important dimension to postmodern criminology's limited potential to function as a bona fide theory is the complaint that it is difficult, if not impossible, to read, decipher, and comprehendPerhaps more significant, however, is that postmodern crime and justice scholars often reveal why dramatic changes in how we think about, talk about, and make decisions within criminology are sorely needed.
