BEGINNING WITH WOLFGANG: AN AGENDA FOR HOMICIDE RESEARCH

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Abstract
In his study of homicide patterns in Philadelphia from 1948 to 1952, Marvin Wolfgang pioneered description as a tool in theory-building, using systematic observation to check the validity of conventional wisdom against stark reality. 7% paper reviews two influential but controversial concepts that grew out of that research - victim precipitation and the subculture of violence. It begins with an overview of the theoretical, definitional and methodological difficulties that have limited the impact of victim precipitation and the subculture of violence on homicide research, pointing out the valuable aspects of the concepts for explaining differential patterns of serious and lethal violence. It then considers how these aspects might be developed into a more general theory, which would avoid some of the difficulties of the original concepts. Finally, the paper suggests ways in which coordination of theory and methodology within projects and between researchers might aid in the development of models of both nonlethal and lethal violence and policies for the prevention of homicide.