The Valley of South Texas is a region of puzzling contradictions. Despite a booming economy fueled by free trade and rapid population growth, the Valley typically experiences high unemployment and low per capita income. The region has the highest rate of drug seizures in the United States, yet its violent crime rate is well below national and state averages. The Valley's colonias are home to the poorest residents in the nation, but their rates of home ownership and intact two-parent families are among the highest in the country for low-income residential areas. What explains these apparently irreconcilable facts?

Since 1982, faculty and students associated with the Borderlife Research Project at the University of Texas-Pan American have interviewed thousands of Valley residents to investigate and describe the cultural and social life along the South Texas-Northern Mexico border. In this book, Borderlife researchers clarify why Valley culture presents so many apparent contradictions as they delve into issues that are "on the edge of the law"-- traditional health care and other cultural beliefs and practices, displaced and undocumented workers, immigration enforcement, drug smuggling, property crime, criminal justice, and school dropout rates. The researchers' findings make it plain that while these issues present major challenges for the governments of the United States and Mexico, their effects and contradictions are especially acute on the border, where residents must daily negotiate between two very different economies; health care, school, and criminal justice systems; and worldviews.

Criminology Throughout History: Critical Readings provides students with a carefully selected set of readings that help them develop a strong knowledge base in the history of criminology. This historical perspective supports a holistic understanding of criminological thought and theory, and helps students situate themselves within the production of knowledge in the discipline. The anthology is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on the historical development of criminological thought, beginning with an overview of the impact of liberal philosophy. Part II takes a closer look at the early theories of causation. Part III provides new directions in criminology, embracing the ideals set by the liberal philosophers: equality, freedom, and justice. For each part, students are provided with a timeline that clearly outlines historical events and demonstrates how the discipline has been influenced and shaped over time. Criminology Throughout History is an ideal textbook to use in undergraduate and graduate criminology and criminal justice programs.

Gender, Crime, and Justice: Critical and Feminist Perspectives provides feminist and critical perspectives on crime, justice, and human rights. The readings survey gender socialization as it pertains to criminality. They examine inequality within the patriarchal system with the primary focus on the subjugation and oppression of the gendered body. The anthology introduces students to concepts associated with gender, ranging from equality to violence, by engaging them in in-depth examinations of crimes of sex and the discourse on sexual autonomy. The reader also examines the socialization of boys and girls, as well as explores various ways gender affects women and men in a society that values heteronormative masculinity. Furthermore, it takes a conceptual approach by addressing topics such as a gendered view of violence, prostitution as a gendered crime, and traditional gender attitudes towards violence against women. The second edition features new readings on sexual health and reproductive rights; human trafficking as a nexus of exploitation; violence in LGBTQ families; and the interplay of masculinity, crime, and criminal justice. Gender, Crime, and Justice is well suited to classes in gender, women's studies, criminal justice, and sociology.

Issues in Criminal Justice: A Reader for Critical Thought provides students with scholarly articles that address a variety of challenges within the criminal justice system. The anthology exposes readers to a spectrum of diverse perspectives and is intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and lively debate regarding aspects, concepts, and viewpoints related to criminal justice. The text is organized into six units that address topics often discussed in introductory criminal justice courses. Each unit addresses a major element associated with the criminal justice system and features an introduction, readings, and discussion questions. The units explore the structure and management of the criminal justice system, policing and law enforcement, the judicial system, punishment and corrections, juvenile justice, and victimology. Specific issues include the prison industrial complex, the use of police body cameras, mental health courts, reform and retrenchment in juvenile justice, elder abuse, and more. Designed to foster critical thinking skills, Issues in Criminal Justice is ideal for senior-level capstones or seminars and upper-division or graduate-level courses with focus on contemporary issues in the discipline.