About

I am currently the Director of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and an Assistant Professor of Criminology/Criminal Justice and Sociology at Randolph College, in Lynchburg, VA. 

At Randolph, I've had the opportunity to build a brand new Criminology and Criminal Justice program from the ground up, structuring curricula for a major and minor, hiring a wonderful new faculty member, and writing 9 new courses for the first two years of the program.  The department is steadily gaining students, and I'm excited to see how it will grow in the coming years.  The goal of this program is to produce graduates who will become the kinds of police officers, detectives, prosecutors, public defenders, social workers, victim advocates (etc!) that will work to serve their communities with generosity, sensitivity, and equity.  To that end, I've structured the program around the cornerstones of critical criminological theory and hands-on practice through field trips and internships required of all majors.  We're always looking for new guest speakers and criminal justice practitioners who would be interested in working with students. 

In addition to directing the new Criminology program, I am also working on several research projects.  In my current book manuscript, Legitimating Violence: Interpretations, Court Rulings, and Racial Violence in America, I examine a number of Supreme Court cases from 1964 - present that involve disputes about the definition and legality of certain kinds of violence.  I argue that the state doesn't have a monopoly on legitimate violence so much as a monopoly on the processes of legitimation for violence, through the court system, and that the acts of interpretation that take place in the courts are acts of performative power.  I'm also working on several papers comparing the US government and media's response to the Black Panther Party to the South African government and media's response to the activism of Steve Biko.  

I grew up in the Southern African country of Lesotho, amongst other places, and attended high school in St. Louis, MO.  Before transitioning into Sociology and Criminology, I studied English (with a focus on Caribbean literature) and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (with a focus on power and authority) at Yale University.  My non-academic interests include environmentalism, circular economy, hiking, camping, contemporary literature, and sewing clothing. 

You can contact me by emailing me at amoore@randolphcollege.edu