Albanian culture and major crime: Challenging culturalist assumptions among investigating UK police
Authors: Schwandner-Sievers, S.
Pages: 267-288
ISBN: 9781526165589
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37018/
Source: Scopus
Albanian culture and major crime: Challenging culturalist assumptions among investigating UK police
Authors: Schwandner-Sievers, S.
Editors: Beek, J., Bierschenk, T., Kolloch, A. and Meyer, B.
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Place of Publication: Manchester
ISBN: 9781526165589
Abstract:When social anthropologists are called upon for their ‘cultural expertise’ - usually regarding migrants’ background - in courts of law or by the police, they are set to engage in multiple cultural translations in ways that are not always immediately obvious. Particularly when called as ‘experts’ for an ethnically defined group which is disproportionally identified with crime and violence, such as this chapter demonstrates for the Albanians in the UK, they must disentangle essentialising and stereotypical representations, on the one hand, from the social context, agency, cultural changes and practices, on the other. This contribution argues that prejudicial and culturalist assumptions can divert from the real reasons and concrete motives of ethnically labelled crime. More widely, they might also contribute to reproducing the geo-political or societal structures of exclusion which ultimately cause and perpetuate such crime. The chapter explores whether and how culturalist explanations of crime can influence police investigations and the role of the social anthropologist as ‘cultural translator’ in this.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37018/
Source: Manual
Albanian culture and serious crime: Challenging culturalist assumptions among investigating UK police
Authors: Schwandner-Sievers, S.
Editors: Beek, J., Bierschenk, T., Kolloch, A. and Meyer, B.
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Place of Publication: Manchester
ISBN: 9781526165589
Abstract:When social anthropologists are called upon for their ‘cultural expertise’ - usually regarding migrants’ background - in courts of law or by the police, they are set to engage in multiple cultural translations in ways that are not always immediately obvious. Particularly when called as ‘experts’ for an ethnically defined group which is disproportionally identified with crime and violence, such as this chapter demonstrates for the Albanians in the UK, they must disentangle essentialising and stereotypical representations, on the one hand, from the social context, agency, cultural changes and practices, on the other. This contribution argues that prejudicial and culturalist assumptions can divert from the real reasons and concrete motives of ethnically labelled crime. More widely, they might also contribute to reproducing the geo-political or societal structures of exclusion which ultimately cause and perpetuate such crime. The chapter explores whether and how culturalist explanations of crime can influence police investigations and the role of the social anthropologist as ‘cultural translator’ in this.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37018/
Source: BURO EPrints