As a trained sociologist, I distinctly remember the feeling of discomfort and perhaps even betrayal as I embarked the academic job market many years ago and pursued tenure-track positions in both sociology and criminology programs. A part of me felt grateful that my work and interests bridged the two disciplines so well that I was able to expand my market search to include positions in both. But, a part of me felt like if I ultimately accepted a criminology position I would be betraying my discipline and my field. Then, I would be (and remain, as many advisers and colleagues constantly reminded me) an outsider in both worlds…a traitor to sociology and an interloper, wanna-be in criminology. My number one criteria for accepting a job was that the department have a doctoral program as I wanted to work with advanced graduate students and mentor them through the phases of their academic career…returning the gift of mentorship my adviser had amazingly bestowed upon me. When I accepted my current position in Criminology, Law & Society the bittersweet reality of landing a tenure-track position at a prestigious (although then, still up-and-coming) university with a growing doctoral program painfully mixed with the anguishing loss of my affiliation with a sociology program.
In the years since, I navigated the boundary between these two worlds, both of which and neither of which, feel like home to me. I love the broad-based theoretical sociologist in me, I adore the indelible lessons in culture, symbolic interactionism, organizational theory and qualitative methods that both shaped and created the scholar I am today. I also love that my work in criminology, law & society roots in broader social problems and presents both theoretical/conceptual and policy/practice relevance. When asked to introduce myself at departmental events I always said I am a trained organizational sociologist who studies social control institutions working in a criminology, law & society program. Yet, despite my self-description and the benefits of my current position, I always felt a bit like I was on the outside looking in at two disciplines where I belong, but that do not have a formal mechanism for including me.
Then, sometime last year—a decade into my career—I had a bit of an epiphany about my academic label. In the same year, several criminology-connected editors from journals and books requested articles and/or chapters from me as an expert in organizations. These scholars wanted me to bring the sociology of organizations and organizational theory to life within the context of criminal justice settings. And, to my surprise, they thought I had already been doing this for years! While it is true, I considered myself an organizational sociologist working in a criminology program, now I was aware of my new label, and I love it! I am an organizational criminologist.
As I reflect back on my re-conferral of self-identity, I sit peacefully with the thought of labels and my place among them. Maybe it is my post-tenure gaze, maybe it is my years of experience, or maybe it is just my calm space in the stormy seas, but I truly do not care how people label me within, between or outside the parallel universes of criminology and sociology. I know where I belong, I know what I contribute to both disciplines, I know there is value in my work and I know above all else, that is all that truly matters.
Danielle S. Rudes
Associate Professor, Criminology, Law & Society
Deputy Director, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!)
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