Critical historical criminology in the antipodean: Unthinking history and criminology in the global south

• Published in: International journal for crime, justice and social democracy justice and social democracy, 2023-03, Vol.12 (1), p.30-41
• Main Author: Catello, Roberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: British colonies; Criminologists; Criminology; critical criminology; Decolonization; Historical analysis; historical criminology; historical study of crime; Historiography; Indigenous peoples; indigenous research; Postcolonialism; Social aspects; southern theory
• ISSN: 2202-8005; 2202-7998; 2202-8005
• DOI: 10.5204/ijcjsd.2742

This paper makes a call for a critical historical criminology of the antipodean and the Global South. It makes a preliminary argument for a critical historical criminology that is 'against method' and in favour of political alliances with 'critical perspectives' that can enrich historico-criminological understandings in an antipodean and Southern context. In particular, this paper explores the potential for a politico-academic alliance between critical historical criminology and postcolonial studies, Southern theory and Indigenous research. Such politico-academic alliances reveal that critical historical criminology is best understood as a 'negation' of both criminology and history and that historical criminology does not have to be understood as a new sub-discipline and academic specialism at the intersection of history and criminology. On the contrary, this paper argues that historical criminology can be approached as a critical attempt to 'unthink the social sciences' and to 'de-discipline ourselves'.