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About
Criminologist, Scholar, & Consultant
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is a criminologist at the University of Baltimore and co-founder of Convict Criminology. His approach is shaped by nearly a decade of work before entering academia, as a courier, cab driver, corrections worker, and union shop steward. It is further grounded in three decades of visiting correctional facilities across North America, Europe, and South America, researching the conditions inside them, and having conversations with convicts and correctional officers and administrators. It also draws on interviews with formerly incarcerated people outside those facilities, and on ethnographic fieldwork on street culture and on graffiti and street art internationally. Ross has published more than thirty books and shares his expertise on corrections, policing, political crime, street culture, and graffiti and street art through scholarship, public writing, speaking, media commentary, and consulting.
Shit Yoga Instructors Say
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSome two decades ago, after struggling with recurrent lower back pain, I reluctantly returned to a yoga studio. Within a few weeks of regular practice, I noticed significant relief from the pain. This experience marked the start of my journey as a frequent yoga practitioner. Over time, I’ve become a “true believer” in yoga’s ability […]
The Lasting Significance of Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFrom Robert De Niro’s masterful performance, to its influence on the neo-noir genre of filmmaking, few movies in American cinematic history have been as lauded as much as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. The Descent of Travis Bickel Taxi Driver (1976) tells the story of Travis Bickel (Robert De Niro), a 20-something alienated and psychologically troubled […]
Subway Platforms, Serendipity, and the Power of Chance Encounters
/by Jeffrey Ian RossWhat do Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz, and Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe all have in common? Not only are they well-respected artists, musicians, photographers, and poets, with partnerships that led to a considerable body of impactful work, but their initial introduction was through a random encounter on a subway […]