Latest Blog Posts
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.
Enabling graffiti and street art in these crazy times?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossOver the past fifty years, graffiti and street art have emerged as significant movements in public art and street culture, visible on all manner of surfaces throughout urban environments worldwide. Predictably, this activity has elicited diverse responses from individuals and groups, ranging from admiration to condemnation. Undoubtedly attention from different stakeholders influences the prevalence of […]
Embracing Familiarity Versus Taking a Chance on Something New
/by Jeffrey Ian RossEvery day, we make numerous choices—what to wear, what to eat, which route to take. But why do we lean towards the familiar, and what motivates us to try something new? Driven by habit or a preference for spontaneity over deliberate planning, many of us navigate these decisions on autopilot. We often face a fundamental […]
The “Hip-ocrisy” of Streetwear
/by Jeffrey Ian RossHip Hop, an influential artistic, cultural, political, and social movement rooted in 1970s street culture, is associated with four key pillars: MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Hip hop has also fostered core values and principles that continue to shape its evolution and impact. These include: * The promotion of Expression and Authenticity * Enabling […]