This project builds on the PI's archival fieldwork and initial analysis of turn-of-the-century Argentine criminology, to document its rise and application in state practices. It incorporates newly available sources that connect it to the broader political and legal history of the nation and region. It examines the impact of criminological theory on law and legislation and state policies intended to regulate and discipline deviant behavior in the context of modernizing Argentina. It examines the practical application of criminological theories in four key areas: New techniques of identification in policing The scientific reform of prison discipline The impact of positivist criminology on national legislation in the "social defense" laws of 1902 and 1910 The campaign to modernize the national Criminal Code.
Encoding the Criminal unites two approaches, the history of science, and Latin American history. It focuses systematically on the contributions of Argentine scientists, and the impact of their ideas on local developments as well as on a larger body of international scientific thought. The project is part of an emerging field of historical inquiry that examines the interaction between science, politics, and culture. It provides new data and an important perspective not often taken into account in studies of science, technology and society. The project contributes to broader discussions of the role of science on state policy and law. It illuminates public debates about the role of science in determining the causes and treatments of crime.
