Richard Felson (born 10 October 1950, in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
) is a professor of Crime, Law, and Justice and Sociology at
The Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
. He is also adjunct professor of Sociology at
State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...
at Albany.
Research on Aggression and Coercive Actions
In 1994 Felson co-authored the controversial book "Violence, Aggression and Coercive Actions: A Social-Interactionist Perspective" with James Tedeschi. This book challenged the theory that
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
was a crime motivated by an aggressive desire to dominate the victim. Felson and Tedeschi argued that sexual fulfillment was a motive of rapists.
[BNET Article](_blank)
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This book drew widespread criticism from academic circles. Robert Prentky the clinical director of Philadelphia's Joseph J. Peters Institute argued that in a small number of cases sexual fulfillment was the motive. However the overriding motive was dominance of the victim.BNET Article
/ref> Felson has stated that he believes rape is a terrible crime and that the motive does not excuse the actions of the perpetrator.
Felson has written about intimate partner violence as well as sexual assault in his book "Violence and Gender Reexamined." In this book he argues that one gains a better understanding of violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against woman, women or Girl, girls, usually by Man, men or Boy, boys. Such ...
by comparing it to violence against men
Violence against men is a term for violent acts that are disproportionately or exclusively committed against men or boys. Men are over-represented as both perpetrators and victims of violence.
Perceptions and aspects
Studies of social attit ...
.
Most of Felson's research is concerned with other aspects of violence. He has studied, for example, the role of alcohol and drugs, the role of guns, and race and regional differences.
In 2012, Felson was selected to deliver the annual Bruce Mayhew Lecture at the University of South Carolina. His lecture is entitled "Sexual Assault as a Crime Against Teenagers."[Mayhew Lecture 2012, University of South Carolina](_blank)
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References
Further reading
*Violence, Aggression, and Coercive Actions, by James Tedeschi and Richard B. Felson. 1994
*Violence and Gender Reexamined, by Richard B. Felson. 2002
External links
Pennsylvania State University Profile
1950 births
Living people
Pennsylvania State University faculty
State University of New York faculty
American criminologists
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