Tarnovskaia (AKA Tarnowsky): Sharing, Extending, and Analyzing her influence on the development of Criminology

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Proskov'ia Tarnovskaia, AKA Pauline Tarnowsky, was one of the first Russian women to become a physician and the first researcher to study women convicted of prostitution, thievery, and homicide. Tarnowsky was well-respected internationally for her rigorous mixed-methods approach which led to a deeper understanding of the women offenders. Dr. Huff-Corzine will focus on Tarnowsky’s background and methods used for the study outcomes that Dr. Parrotta and Dr. White will present. In her presentation, Analyzing Cases from Les Femmes Homicides Volume 1 using a Contemporary Feminist Lens, Dr. Parrotta will examine selected motivational causes given by the women convicted of homicide. She will link the women’s explanations for their acts to the cultural norms of peasant women in Russia during the late 1800s and illuminate connections with contemporary culture and research. In his presentation, In dialogue: Tarnovskaia and Tolstoi, Dr. White will focus on the women’s case studies in Tarnovskaia’s studies of prostitutes and thieves and then extend her work by exploring Tolstoi's novel Resurrection (1899). Tolstoi criticizes Lombroso’s science, although the heroine is like the women described in Tarnovskaia’s case studies of prostitutes. Both Tolstoi and Tarnovskaia were advocating for reform and better living conditions for the poor, not further regulation of prostitution by the State. To conclude, Dr. Huff-Corzine will briefly describe Tarnowsky’s influence on criminological theory development and open for discussion with attendees.

Subtopic

• Topic 7: Comparative and Historical Perspectives / Historical Comparisons of Crime (Historical Criminology WG)

Chair

• Lin Huff-Corzine, University of Central Florida

Individual Presentations

• Analyzing Cases from Les Femmes Homicides Volume 1 using a Contemporary Feminist Lens - Kylie Parrotta, California Polytechnic State University

• In dialogue: Tarnovskaia and Tolstoi - Frederick H. White, Utah Valley University

• Tarnowsky: Scholarship that influenced the development of Criminology - Lin Huff-Corzine, University of Central Florida; Kayla Toohy, University of Tampa