Introduction to the OUP Handbook of Gangs and Society

Abstract This chapter introduces readers to The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society and its central theme of “looking back, moving forward.” The chapter reflects on the past, present, and future of gangs and gang research and discusses the process of curating and editing more than 40 chapters written by over 80 scholars from disciplines as diverse as anthropology, criminology, geography, history, law, psychology, public health, sociology, and more. The book is organized into six substantive areas: (1) revisiting definitions of gangs; (2) the empirical study of gangs; (3) core and emerging issues in gang research; (4) the integration of gangs in predominant institutions; (5) legacies of second-generation gang researchers; and (6) responding to gangs. This chapter, like the handbook itself, appreciates the longstanding and at times contentious history of research on gangs, while also aiming to advance the field of study squarely into the twenty-first century.