ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Ruth Rosner Kornhauser's viewpoint on the role of culture in the explanation of crime and delinquency and describes how her thinking on culture has inspired important avenues of insight that are evident in theory and research, especially in the area of communities and crime. It discusses Kornhauser's critique of what she considers social scientists' "loose usage" of culture more broadly. The loose usage of culture, she argues, is reflected in improper definitions of human nature and the social order, as well as "extreme cultural relativism". The chapter reviews Kornhauser's critique of cultural deviance theories, including culture conflict and cultural transmission theories, as embodying these broader criticisms. It explains the rationale behind her designation of cultural deviance theory as "deadpan sociology". The chapter discusses Kornhauser's preferred explanation, that of cultural disorganization and crime, which largely develops from a control model of social disorganization theory.
