Includes bibliographical references and index.

This title deals with various aspects of criminal law, including its relationship to a wide range of disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, and technology. It first considers a range of approaches and methods used in the analysis of criminal law, including economics, feminist studies, critical race theory, criminology, history, and literature. It then traces the origins of modern criminal law to medieval canon law and examines indigenous legal traditions before discussing the collapse of pre-modern criminal justice and the transition to modernity.