Ruth Peterson Lauren Krivo Ohio State University
This project builds on an ongoing collaborative and interdisciplinary project designed to achieve the following specific objectives: (1) to expand and further specify a broad agenda for explaining the race/ethnicity-crime/criminal justice link; (2) develop research projects that address the specified agenda; and (3) broaden participation in crime and criminal justice research by enhancing the research activities and the professional development of young scholars for carrying out innovative analyses in this area. The project is significant because it will move the field forward in providing a more meaningful, comprehensive, and nuanced understanding of to what degree, how, and why race, ethnicity, crime, and criminal justice are interrelated. Importantly, the intellectual merit of the project will be in expanding our current understanding of the meaning of race and ethnicity in crime and criminal justice, while also embedding knowledge of the observed linkages within the context of the broader positioning (racial/ethnic structure) of groups in society. Two types of activities geared are planned to achieve the specific objectives identified above. First, the PIs will hold a series of workshops and related meetings. The first of these will be held in conjunction with the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Toronto, Canada. The second will be held during June or July 2006 in Columbus, Ohio. During these meetings, agenda setting activities, including identifying gaps in research beyond those generated in previous workshops and discussing additional outlets for disseminating and setting the agenda items in the context of existing knowledge will be undertaken. The workshops and meetings will also serve as vehicles for identifying topics and funding sources for collaborative research projects to address major neglected issues in the study of race, ethnicity, crime, and criminal justice. Small groups will then work on developing the design and seeking funding for the projects with feedback from the larger study group. Our second mechanism for expanding understanding of the race/ethnicity-crime/criminal justice link is through holding a summer research and professional development institute for young scholars from underrepresented groups. At the institute, each participant will complete a research project with guided training and mentoring in a "safe" and resource enriched environment. At the culmination of the institute, there will be a mini-conference where participants present their work to the broader set of scholars involved in this project. This will provide an additional mechanism for institute participants to gain feedback and develop relationships (network) with other senior and junior scholars in the field. The summer institute will take place in Columbus, Ohio during the summer of 2006.
Broader Impacts. This project is structured to have several specific broader impacts on scholarship and the academy. First, it will signal to the larger research community the types of research issues, theoretical frameworks, and methodological strategies that are required to improve knowledge in an important area. Second, it will draw on the expertise of scholars who are diverse along a number of dimensions (e.g., race and ethnicity, disciplinary training, and stage of career) to develop significant innovative research projects that take into account the complexity of race/ethnicity and embed analysis in the differential positioning of groups in society. Third, it will broaden participation in crime and justice research by fostering the careers of scholars from underrepresented groups. Together these will have a more general impact in bringing diverse and innovative perspectives to bear on research and curricula, thereby yielding new insights on the role of race and ethnicity in outcomes like crime and criminal justice decisions into the future.
