Marie-Andrée Bertrand
Encyclopedia
Marie-Andrée Bertrand was a French-Canadian criminologist, a feminist and anti-prohibitionist.
. She went on to study criminology at the School of Criminology, University of California, Berkeley
, where she got her Ph.D.
in 1967. She held a professorship in criminology at the School of Criminology, Université de Montréal
. She continued to work, until her death, doing research, teaching and publishing. In 1999/2000 and again in 2000/2001, she taught a course on "Gender, Colour and Legal Norms" in the Masters Program at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law
in Onati
, Spain.
, the treatment of women by criminal justice
agencies, and, more generally, critical, feminist theory concerning criminology
and sociology of law
. Among her main works is an international comparison of female criminality (1979, 2003) and a comparative analysis of women's prisons(1998).
and his International Antiprohibitionist League, becoming eventually president of the organization. Among her causes was also the abolition of prisons, which goal she called "a necessary utopia". But first and last, she was an untiring feminist. As late as 2007, she is being quoted as saying: "A retired feminist does not easily repose and has no desire to do so".
Biography
Bertrand started her career as a social worker for female offenders, mainly prostitutes. In 1963, she received a Masters degree from the Université de MontréalUniversité de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. She went on to study criminology at the School of Criminology, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where she got her Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1967. She held a professorship in criminology at the School of Criminology, Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. She continued to work, until her death, doing research, teaching and publishing. In 1999/2000 and again in 2000/2001, she taught a course on "Gender, Colour and Legal Norms" in the Masters Program at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law
International Institute for the Sociology of Law
The International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati is the only international establishment which is entirely devoted to teaching and promoting the sociology of law, socio-legal studies, and law and society research....
in Onati
Oñati
Oñati is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basque country. It lies about 40 km south of the Bay of Biscay and is about 236 m...
, Spain.
Main areas of research
The focus of Bertrand's research was on three areas: drug policyDrug policy
A drug policy most often refers to a government's attempt to combat the negative effects of drug addiction and misuse in its society. Governments try to combat drug addiction with policies which address both the demand and supply of drugs, as well as policies which can mitigate the harms of drug...
, the treatment of women by criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
agencies, and, more generally, critical, feminist theory concerning criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
and sociology of law
Sociology of law
The sociology of law is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies...
. Among her main works is an international comparison of female criminality (1979, 2003) and a comparative analysis of women's prisons(1998).
Activism
Bertrand went beyond mere academic work in several fields. As a young professor, she served as vice president of the Le Dain Commission, which was charged to look into the effects of non-medical drugs. The commission's final report came out in favour of legalizing marijuana. Later, she joined Marco PannellaMarco Pannella
Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...
and his International Antiprohibitionist League, becoming eventually president of the organization. Among her causes was also the abolition of prisons, which goal she called "a necessary utopia". But first and last, she was an untiring feminist. As late as 2007, she is being quoted as saying: "A retired feminist does not easily repose and has no desire to do so".
Publications (Selection)
- Self-image and social representations of female offenders : a comparative study of female criminality in seven countries, Doctoral thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 1967. Reprint: Self image and social representation of female offenders: a contribution to the study of women's image in some societies. Ann Arbor, Michigan 1974.
- La femme et le crime. Montréal 1979.
- Perspectives féministes sur le droit pénal », Actes du Premier sommet mondial : Femmes et multidiniensionnalité du pouvoir, Montréal. 1990, pp. 138-140.
- From La donna delinquente to a postmodern deconstruction of the "woman question" in social control theory. In: The Journal of Human Justice, 5, 2, Spring 1994, pp. 43-57.
- The place and status of feminist criminology in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Finland. In: N. Rafter und F. Heidensohn (Hrsg.): International Feminist Perspectives on Criminology - Engendering a Discipline. 1995, S. 107–124.
- Constructivism and postmodernism seen from feminism. In: Politischer Wandel, Gesellschaft und Kriminalitatdiskurse. Festschrift in Honour of Fritz Sack, Trutz von Trotha, editor, Baden-Baden, Nomos Publishing Co., 1996, pp. 167-181.
- Women in Prisons: A Comparative Study. In: Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology, 1996, 1, 1, pp. 38-58
- Prisons pour femmes. (with Louise Biron et al.) Montréal 1998.
- Le Droit comme Instrument de Mondialisation. In: J. Feest (Hrsg.): Globalization and Legal Cultures. Onati 1999, S. 113–139.
- Incarceration as a Gendering Strategy. In: Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 1999, 14, 1, pp. 45-60 (Sondernummer über Gender, Ethnizität, (Hetero)Sexualität und Normen. Herausgegeben von Marie-Andrée Bertrand).
- Les femmes et la criminalité. Montréal 2003.
- Le reve d'une societé sans risques. In: Drogues, santé et societé. Band 4, Nr. 2, Dezember 2005, S. 9–41.
- Comparing women's prisons: epistemological and methodological issues. In: D. Nelken (Hrsg.) Contrasting Criminal Justice. Aldershot 2006, 117-135.