ABSTRACT
The social harm perspective, or zemiology (from zemia, Greek for harm), was formally launched in 1999 at a meeting of social scientists at the University of Bristol in England. Zemiology is potentially broader than critical criminology, encompassing, for example, teasing and the hurt experienced by straight white men. These topics could be scrutinized within contexts of political economy and ideology to yield general insights. The fact is that they have not been within the confines of any sort of criminology. Specific harms aside, zemiologists using quantitative data can produce new understandings of social factors in offending. Zemiology demands a reflexive stance that is much talked about but seldom achieved in criminology or other social sciences. In sum, 'social harm' or zemiology offers a hub for studies of diverse injuries in the world. Zemiology is most usefully located within criminology, as a productive thorn in the side of the discipline.
