Categorizing Perpetrators: Methodology, Positionality, and Ethics

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ABSTRACT Perpetrator Studies has a categorical problem: not in an absolute or unqualified sense, but as a problem of and with categories. In focusing on the category of perpetrators, Perpetrator Studies is premised on categorizations, even when these are questioned. This categorization makes for a field that is fundamentally split: one part reifying and enabling stereotypes and the other constantly reflecting and questioning the premise. In this review article, I consider how three recently published books on perpetrators approach, engage with, and critically reflect on the practice of categorization.