This essay will explore the importance of the Chicago School and how it relates to criminological thoughts. The essay will begin with a brief introduction regarding the Chicago School’s origins and will lead into describing and analysing the contributions made by some key Chicago School thinkers such as Robert Park, Edwin Sutherland and Robert Merton. This essay will conclude by assessing the importance of the Chicago School and how it links to the criminology thought. In the 1890’s during the enlightenment period, the University of Chicago was the first to establish a dedicated sociology department to investigate social changes due to rapid increases in population as result of great migration. Because of these extensive social changes Chicago began to experience problems regarding housing, poverty and a strain on institutions. Under the guidance of Robert Park, a group of scholars looked to focus on the changes of human behaviour shaped by social structures and physical environmental factors. …show more content…
Park encouraged his students to go into the city and collect primary data using observational methods. (Macionis and Plummer 2005 p.648-649)
Go and sit in the lounges of the luxury hotels and on the doorsteps of the flophouses; sit on the Gold Coast settees and on the slum shakedown; sit in the Orchestra Hall and the Star and Garter Burlesque. In short, gentlemen, go get the seat of your pants dirty in real research. (Park, Cited in Prus 1996, pg