Unreasonable Women: Gender and the Law of Accidental Injury, 1870-1920

At the wheels of railroads and streetcars, the law of accidental personal injury, known as negligence, became a discrete body of law between 1870 and 1920. The defining component of negligence was "fault"–the notion that the individuals (injured and injurer) must have failed to act according to some minimal standard of caution. Theorists of the history of negligence have explained that the conduct of all was measured against what a "reasonable man" would have done under the circumstances. The author here challenges this fundamental assertion. Through trial records, lawyer's written arguments, and appellate opinions, she reconstructs the critical role of gender in shaping the law of accidental injury. As she argues, in 19th- and 20th-century America, injury was a gendered event. The fact that courts in these years held men and women to different standards of care undermines theorists' arguments that economic considerations drove the law of accidental injury. Moreover, the reification of gender nm in private law, in turn, vitally affected the experience of gender in turn-of-the-century America.     

Criminology, the Chicago School, and sociological theory

Although the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago wasnever known as a center for sociological theory, major contributions were made in suchareas as social disorganization, human ecology and demography, urbanism,professions, institutional development, community organization anddevelopment, as well as criminology and deviance. These theoreticalcontributions did not qualify as grand theory, but all were in the Chicago tradition of theoretically interpretive empirical work. The Project onHuman Development in Chicago Neighborhoods – Chicago-style researchat its best – continues that tradition, wherever it is practiced and whateverits specific aims.     

Emerging Organized Crime in Chicago

Organized crime is now international in scope and unrestricted by geographical borders. Better organized, more sophisticated, and using high-tech equipment the criminals have developed connections with so-called 'traditional organized crime'. This paper examines in detail the wave of organized criminal activity which has developed in Chicago and has now become entrenched through alliances with existing criminal groups.     

Traditional Organized Crime in Chicago

For 78 years the Chicago Outfit or Mob has been the focus of the Chicago Crime Commission's1 efforts to combat organized crime. Indeed, the perception of organized crime in Chicago, as well as much of the city's reputation, stems from the notorious, and often inappropriately glamorized, activities of the Outfit from Al Capone in the 1930s through John DiFronzo in the 1990s. While the Outfit is most certainly still alive, much of the organized criminal activity presently targeting Chicago and its suburbs is perpetrated by new and emerging criminal enterprises. These groups range from local burglary rings to highly sophisticated international criminal organizations headquartered in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America, involved in corporate kidnapping and extortion, murder-for-hire, high-tech crime and drug trafficking. All require public attention and relentless law enforcement scrutiny. This paper deals with traditional organized crime in Chicago. Emerging Organized Crime will be dealt with in a forthcoming paper.     

A Dutch Sodom and Gomorrah: Degenerates,moralists and authority in Yerseke, 1870–1914

In 1870, the Dutch state privatized several oyster banks in Zeeland waters. This measure brought about a rapid capitalization of the oyster industry. The Zeeland town of Yerseke soon became the national centre of oyster farming and trade. Initially, oyster farming was quite successful. Yerseke turned into an affluent country town which attracted hundreds of migrants. When by the mid-1880s serious problems assailed the oyster industry, a large number of people left the town, although newcomers were continually arriving. In the wake of these developments the community's social organization changed drastically and social control withered. Fights, drunkenness and theft were part and parcel of everday life. In the course of the 1890s, this social disorganization was checked by the civilizing missions of churches and the disciplining offensives of the local authorities and police. Perhaps even more important was the increasing social integration of the village community. The present article aims to uncover the dynamics and interrelations of these processes.     

Organized crime in three regions: comparing the Veneto, Liverpool, and Chicago

This paper studies organized crime in three regions, the Veneto in Northern Italy, Liverpool in England, and Chicago in the United States. Data were gathered from published reports, government documents, and field observation. Case studies were then compiled describing organized crime in each area. The findings suggest that various jurisdictions define organized crime differently. These different definitions correspond to the nature of organized crime in each locality. In spite of these differences, however, there is consensus about the use of the term mafia. Groups that are defined as mafias generally exercise some degree of political influence in their areas of operation. Additionally, criminal groups that began as adolescent gangs retain the gang classification even after they move into drug trafficking and other organized criminal activities. These findings suggest important distinctions between organized criminal groups and improve our understanding of the term organized crime.     

Professional Projects of Elite Chicago Lawyers, 1950–1974

This article reports results of an inquiry into the composition and policies of the leaders of the Chicago Bar Association. The leadership cadre was partitioned into three status groups on the basis of background characteristics and law school attended. Outside educational elites, dominating the board during the early 1950s, pursued policies that defended prestigious areas of legal work from other encroaching professionals and sought to constrain the plaintiff side of the personal injury bar. Local ethnic elites obtained a share of the leadership during the mid-1960s and transformed the judicial politics of the CBA to conform to local Democratic party objectives. At the center of the leadership cadre was a group of local aristocrats, well connected to major corporate and civic organizations, whose participation in the leadership roles fluctuated less dramatically than that of the other groups. A review of policies suggests that the local aristocrats were responsible to some extent for integrating the various specialized projects pursued by disparate segments of the Chicago bar. Detailed examination of the composition and policies of this local bar leads to the conclusion that associations of the legal profession are capable of accommodating diverse interests to an extent not previously measured or assessed.     

Family relationships in comic postcards 1900–1930

This paper discusses how comic postcards circulating in Europe and North America between 1900 and 1930 featured various aspects of family life. A range of situations were considered amusing involving babies, children, parents, mothers-in-law, servants and the elderly. The four situations that were pictured most frequently were flirtations, fertility, the struggle between husband and wife for dominance in the household, and courtship. The presence of widely shared attitudes to family life within the western world is suggested by the fact that the same sort of humour featured in cards sent and received in different European countries and in North America. On the other hand, the text on the back of the cards indicates that some writers had ignored or misunderstood the humour represented on the front of the card, whereas others had chosen their cards with care.     

政治激情与30年代文学创作

源于1930年代特殊政治文化语境的作家的政治激情，导致了人们对文学审美的特殊的偏颇性的理解，导致了广大读者对文学的特殊接受和偏颇性的审美预期，也导致了作家对文学审美的特殊的偏颇性的选择。在一个“非常态”的政治语境下，要在文学中追求“常态”的表达，不仅难以做到，即使做到了，这样的作品也许很难获得最广大的读者。从政治文化心理支配下的文学表达这一独特的角度，可以使我们对30年代中国文学的审美风貌的形成根源，有更加深入的理解和认识。     

政治化角度与中国20世纪30年代文学论争

30年代是中国20世纪学发展中的重要转折时期，在其后相当长的历史时期内的学论争，学讨论乃至学批评中，都能发现30年代学论争中所形成的一系列特点的遗存，因此，本的探讨对加深理解30年代乃至整个20世纪学的发展均有着重要的意义。章分别从学论争的起因，论争中各方所关注的重心、论争各方的心态，对话的基本方式以及看问题的角度等等方面，论述了中国20世纪30年代一系列重要学论争的最基本的也是最显的特征，并进而分析了这些特征得以形成的30年代特殊的政治化语境的根源。