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    The document discusses two seminar activities on positivist criminology. The first activity focuses on biological positivism and involves analyzing a case of forced sterilization. Students are asked to consider how a positivist would justify the actions and what social issues may have influenced the treatment. The second activity examines psychological positivism through the case of serial killer John Paul Knowles. Students are asked to discuss whether nature or nurture influences criminality based on Knowles' claims of being born criminal and reviews of his upbringing. They also consider how positivist and classical theories could help understand his crimes.

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    The document discusses two seminar activities on positivist criminology. The first activity focuses on biological positivism and involves analyzing a case of forced sterilization. Students are asked to consider how a positivist would justify the actions and what social issues may have influenced the treatment. The second activity examines psychological positivism through the case of serial killer John Paul Knowles. Students are asked to discuss whether nature or nurture influences criminality based on Knowles' claims of being born criminal and reviews of his upbringing. They also consider how positivist and classical theories could help understand his crimes.

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    3 views2 pages

    Positivist School Seminar 2023

    Uploaded by

    abbeykorsah28
    The document discusses two seminar activities on positivist criminology. The first activity focuses on biological positivism and involves analyzing a case of forced sterilization. Students are asked to consider how a positivist would justify the actions and what social issues may have influenced the treatment. The second activity examines psychological positivism through the case of serial killer John Paul Knowles. Students are asked to discuss whether nature or nurture influences criminality based on Knowles' claims of being born criminal and reviews of his upbringing. They also consider how positivist and classical theories could help understand his crimes.

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    of 2

    Positivism – Positivist School of Criminology (Jan 2024)

    Seminar Activity 1: Biological Positivism

    Please watch the following video on a case of forced sterilisation and also read
    relevant article on Moodle page:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWanJoxW2s4

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13700490

    Then please take some time to think and discuss about the following:

    1) Why was Elaine Riddick sterilised?

    2) What assumptions were made about her and any future children she might
    have had?

    3) How would a criminological positivist justify these actions?

    4) What wider social issues might have influenced the way Riddick was treated?

    5) To what extent does a person’s biology still shape the way they are treated?

    6) Do you consider forced sterilisation to be a crime?

    Seminar Activity 2: Psychological Positivism (natural born or made


    criminals?)

    ‘Casanova Killer’: “I was born criminal. I have been a criminal since I’ve
    been a child”.
    John Paul Knowles (JPK) or else the ‘Casanova Killer’ is considered one of the most
    brutal and cold-blooded serial killers in the history of US crime. He brutally raped,
    strangled and killed more than 35 people (male/female) in USA in the 1970s.

    *CAUTION: following video can be upsetting, you don’t need to watch it if you don’t
    want to.

    Watch the following documentary, mainly the parts where JPK talks about his
    criminality to the interviewer and where Sandy Fawkes (a British journalist who had a
    relationship with him and escaped) describes his upbringing/childhood:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaeRLHJidOo (check 19:24–20:40, 21:33-24:12,


    31:45-32:57)

    1
    Then, based also on this week’s lecture/readings, think and discuss about the
    following:

    1) What do you think, is it nature or nurture?

    2) To what extent psychological positivism/psycho-social theories can help us


    understand his crimes (e.g. early on life delinquency, personality disorders,
    psychopathy, social learning, mental illness, etc.)

    3) If not, can criminological classicism (e.g. rational choice theory) help us


    understand this type of offending and underlying motivations?

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