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93 Prison J. 3 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl93 and id is 1 raw text is: Convict Criminology at the Crossroads: Research Note The Prison journal 93(1) 3-10 @ 2012 SAGE Publications Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1 177/0032885512467307 http://tp.sagepub.corn *SAGE Greg Newbold' and Jeffrey Ian Ross2 Abstract This research note critiques both the past and current status of Convict Criminology. It notes the subtle changes that have occurred within this approach to the study of corrections and the criminal justice system and some of the controversies that have emerged. It discusses these issues and makes recommendations about Convict Criminology's future direction. Keywords prisons, convict criminology, penology, scholarship, prison activism An endemic feature of scholarly thinking is its evolving nature. As the German philosopher Georg Hegel (1807/1971) noted, dialectical discourse within any discipline is inimical to its vibrancy and progress. Others have offered similar observations. Thomas Kuhn (1970), for example, argued that scientific debates are not necessarily progressive; in fact, they tend to be somewhat faddish. Whatever the case, ideas seldom survive long without amendment, review or challenge. In an ideal world, the best ideas are accepted and incor- porated, while bad ones are consigned to the scrapheap of history. 'University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand 2University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA Corresponding Author: Jeffrey Ian Ross, PhD, School of Criminal justice, College of Public Affairs, Fellow, Center for Comparative and International Law, University of Baltimore, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Email: jross@ubalt.edu