Considering graffiti is both the world's most visible crime and a global subcultural phenomenon, it's strange that mainstream criminology has spent the last four decades steadfastly ignoring the subject. Finally, this seems to be changing. With the arrival of the Routledge Handbook on Graffiti and Street Art, criminology now has the sophisticated and comprehensive benchmark collection the subject deserves. Get yourself a copy and tag the inside cover today!' - Professor Keith Hayward, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Jeffrey Ian Ross's Routledge Handbook on Graffiti and Street Art is a comprehensive well rounded treatment of graffiti and street art with contributions by the most recognized international scholars of the field. The edited collection provides analyses that are theoretically and empirically grounded, going beyond simply over-romanticizing the subject matter that typically sees graffiti and street art as simple acts of vandalism and/or resistance. The Handbook looks at graffiti/street art as manifestations of the broader social structure, as well as the subcultural processes and micro-level interactions among graffiti/street art practitioners, and the wider community in which they operate. This volume is a must read for scholars, students, and community and state policy makers. - Dawn Rothe, Professor of Sociology and Criminiology, Old Dominion University, USA
While completing a major book project in 2012 on street art, I found that the majority of academic texts and articles on graffiti addressed issues of controlling or curving the practice of graffiti in the public square. This is an issue that editor Jeffrey Ian Ross often takes note of throughout the text...The social control trajectory is complimented and expanded by the contributors in this volume and it's the real strength of its organization. Expanding this field into a handbook is a large task, one that Ross tackled with enthusiasm and a sincere desire to push the field beyond its comfortable borders - G. James Daichendt, College of Arts and Humanities, Point Loma Nazarene, Law and Politics Book Review
The Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art offers a rich geographical spread, not only including the dominant graffiti and street art Meccas (the United States and the United Kingdom), but also case studies from Brazil, Egypt, Portugal, Canada, and Australia, alongside excellent visual representations. - Myrto Tsilimpounidi, Ph.D. Marie Curie Fellow Institute of Sociology Slovak Academy of Sciences International Social Science Review, Volume 93 | Issue 1
It would prove useful to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers, experts and faculty. With the broad scope of disciplinary perspectives utilized throughout the work, this will fit in with a large body of disciplines and industries. The depth and quality of the research and the fact that it deftly fills a gap in graffiti and street art-related research should make this a desirable and useful purchase for academic libraries. - Michael DeNotto, Humanities Librarian,Reference Reviews, Volume 32 * Number 1 * 2018 *
The Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art is a one of a kind collection of scholarly chapters devoted to the study of a complex, urban phenomenon. Graffiti and street art are as old as civilization and communication itself, but it was not until the last several decades that research began to tackle this phenomenon. This Handbook provides an accessible tool that will likely be a staple in the study of graffiti and street art for years to come whether that be in the classroom or for one's own research interests. - Andrew C. Gray, University of Delaware, USA, Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology, Volume 6 Number 1 Spring 2018
