ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews Ruth Rosner Kornhauser's major contributions to criminological theory and research, focusing on her typology of criminological theories. It discusses the intellectual influences that helped shape Kornhauser's approach to criminological theory, including Talcott Parson's functionalist approach and Gertrude Jaeger and Philip Selznick's normative theory of culture. The chapter revisits her construction and critique of "cultural deviance theory," and speculates about what led her to misinterpret the writings of Edwin Sutherland and other members of the Chicago School of Sociology. It reconsiders the issues of social structure and culture rose by Kornhauser and outlines a strategy for remedying her errors and moving beyond her presentation to a research agenda for criminology. Criminologists who assess Kornhauser's work rarely discuss her theoretical influences, with the exception of her alignment with social disorganization and social control perspectives. Kornhauser carefully constructs "cultural deviance theory," arguing that Sutherland's theory of differential association is its "purest" case.
