News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009

PAPER BY K-STATE GRADUATE STUDENT THAT EXAMINES METH-RELATED CRIMES IN THE MIDWEST TO BE PUBLISHED IN CRIMINOLOGY JOURNAL

MANHATTAN -- An award-winning paper by a Kansas State University doctoral student in sociology has been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Critical Criminology.

"Mad Men, Meth Moms, Moral Panic: Gendering Meth Crimes in the Midwest" by K-State's Travis Linnemann, Manhattan, is a content analysis of newspaper coverage of people in the Midwest arrested for methamphetamine-related offenses.

"It focuses specifically on how female users are portrayed," Linnemann said. "This started as a seminar paper here at K-State and is part of my dissertation that looks at meth related issues in Kansas."

Linnemann said the article should appear in the journal's next issue, which will be released in early 2010.

Linnemann also was invited to present the paper at the first Crime and Popular Culture Studies Conference at Indiana State University in October.

The paper previously earned Linnemann the American Society of Criminology's Critical Criminology Graduate Student Paper Award in 2008. The society's Division of People of Color and Crime also recognized Linnemann with its Outstanding Graduate Student Award in November 2008 for his research on the connection between race, gender and incarceration.

Linnemann, who earned his master's from K-State in 2006, plans to finish up his doctoral degree in 2010 and would like to teach and do research at the university level. Originally from Marysville, Linnemann has 10 years of experience working in the U.S. justice system, including as a prison guard, child welfare worker and probation officer.