Criminology Commons^™

Reflections On Visual Field Research, Kenneth Tunnell

Kenneth Tunnell

This article describes ongoing visual field research by focusing on its self-reflective and auto-ethnographic components. Photographs and field notes are presented and personal encounters from the field are described. Recognizing the symbiotic order of the personal and political, the author details confrontations and emotions from ongoing efforts at recording visually.

Singing Across The Scars Of Wrong: Johnny Cash And His Struggle For Social Justice, Kenneth Tunnell, Mark Hamm

Kenneth Tunnell

The life and music of Johnny Cash are explored in this article as we detail his commitment to social justice. Situating his politics and biography within a cultural criminology orientation, we show that Cash's lived politics and edgy music reflect his concerns with the working class, the dispossessed, the rebellious, the American Indian, and above all, the convict. A pusher of social causes, Cash advocated for prison reform through decades of social activism and public and private politics.

DOI: 10.1177/1741659009346015

Illegal Dumping: Large And Small Scale Littering In Rural Kentucky, Kenneth D. Tunnell

Kenneth Tunnell

Illegal dumping, a social problem greatly affecting some rural states, occurs at both the large and small scale as open dump sites and roadside trash. Focusing on Kentucky, a rural state without mandatory trash pickup and a per capita income below and a poverty rate above the national average, this photo essay describes the dumping and littering problem. As is shown, legislative and executive initiatives have made some inroads in large-scale clean up. Some local governments, however, appear apathetic about addressing illegal dumping in their own communities. Kentucky’s litter problem is showing few signs of improvement and roadside littering seemingly …

In Our Own Backyard: Methamphetamine Manufacturing, Trafficking And Abuse In Rural America, Kenneth Tunnell, Joseph Donnermeyer

Kenneth Tunnell

The abuse of methamphetamine ( or meth) is dramatically evident in the "before and after" faces of meth arrestees. Yet these pictures provide only a glimpse of the larger personal, environmental, and community fallout from methamphetamine use and production, an issue that barely existed 15 years ago in rural America, but has since grown into a large more serious problem.

Socially Disorganized Rural Communities, Kenneth D. Tunnell

Kenneth Tunnell

The article talks about the social disorganization of rural communities in the U.S. It is stated that family farming has been on the decline for decades, with the numbers of farmers dropping by 16 million since 1950 and farms decreasing by over 4 million during the past century. It is inferred that a part of a community's history and way of life are being forfeited when local business are closing. According to the author, the theory of social disorganization emphasizes social integration and stability as necessary conditions for community. It offers some of the disadvantages of disorganized communities, such as …

The Death Of Roy Lee Centers, Kenneth D. Tunnell, Terry C. Cox

Kenneth Tunnell

"Be it remembered." A simple command yet, in this case, an introduction spoken by the judge in the Breathitt County, Ky., trial of William (Bill) R. Hurst, who killed Roy Lee Centers, a native of Jackson, Kentucky