The Perils of Being Deviant in the Study of Deviance

• In Event: Advancing Viewpoint Diversity and Open Inquiry in American Criminology

Abstract

I have been studying gender and violence for more than 35 years. My work is controversial because it questions the feminist narrative about rape and intimate partner violence. In my presentation, I will reflect on my career as an academic. I will share firsthand experiences and anecdotes that illustrate how scientific inquiry in this area is constrained by ideological gatekeeping, editorial bias, and institutional pressures that suppress dissenting perspectives and reward conformity over controversy. From resistance to publishing controversial findings to professional ostracization, my career illustrates the challenges faced by heterodox scholars in criminology and the social sciences.

Author

• Richard B. Felson, Penn State University