The appeal of moral panic studies, a once very popular sociological subfield, dropped precipitously around the turn of the century due in large part to debates about disproportionality, the notion a panicked group's concern about a perceived threat exceeds that warranted by its objective harmfulness. Classic theorists claim disproportionality is a panic's essential criterion and that it can be demonstrated by comparing a group's concerned reaction to the available facts. Critics argue it is a value-laden, ideologically tainted construct and often claim it cannot be demonstrated because there are no authoritative facts. These debates were and still are fraught with confusion. Perplexingly, both sides assume a shared definition despite clearly assessing the proportionality of different aspects of the relevant reaction. A typology differentiating the potential types of disproportionality either does not exist in the moral panic literature or remains shrouded in obscurity. In this paper, I review the classic theories, their critiques, and a new postmodern moral panic theory. By juxtaposing the different foci of the orthodox and contemporary theories, I derive a much-needed disproportionality typology. I also develop a new framework through which to assess moral panics predicated on this typology. My hope is these developments will stimulate a more sophisticated debate about disproportionality and encourage theorists to refine rather than simply reject classic approaches to the disproportionality problem.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1752379 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | McCready, Marshall |
| Contributors | McCaffree, Kevin, Ignatow, Gabe, Kwon, Ronald |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | vi, 76 pages, Text |
| Rights | Public, McCready, Marshall, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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