If There’s No Causal Model, It’s Just Activism

An Autoethnographic Reflection on Criminology’s Rejection of the Scholarvist Model

Bibliographic Data

ID12809795
AuthorsJennifer M Ortiz (0000-0002-4172-6241, Institute of Criminology, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume21
Issue3
Pages232-251
Publication date2026-03-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Criminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-0851 • E-ISSN: 1557-086X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/15570851261440512
OpenAlexW7141638932
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

This paper uses autoethnographic analysis of my journey through higher education and a decade on the tenure track to examine the structural barriers that hinder the Scholarvist approach to criminology. Drawing on personal journals, email exchanges, and a longitudinal incident log, I identify recurring themes of fear of retaliation, denial of opportunity, personal and professional insult, and the devaluation of scholarvism, alongside moments of institutional support. Together, these experiences demonstrate how criminology’s entanglement with state power, grant funding, and rigid definitions of rigor has constrained the criminological imagination. Situating these patterns within broader disciplinary shifts from humanistic to positivist approaches, this paper illustrates how scholarvism is routinely dismissed as “just activism.” I conclude that scholarvism is necessary to restore humanity in our research, expand methodological legitimacy, and reengage with the criminological imagination

Autoethnography · Denial · Humanism · Humanity · Poison control · Positivism · Reflection (computer programming · State (computer science · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

Tools

Open DOI