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| Unit name |
Representations of Crime and Harm |
| Unit code |
SPOL10037 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
C/4
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Mulvihill |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit introduces you to a critical understanding of how crime and harm are represented through different media. These may include:
- News media (for example: online, broadcast, print)
- Social media (for example: trial by social media, citizen journalism, livecasting offending, performance crimes)
- TV, film, radio (for example: documentaries, podcasts, drama, true-crime series)
- Text (for example: crime fiction, crime biographies, policy documents, music lyrics)
- Visual culture (for example: art and sculpture, graphics, court sketches, photojournalism, architecture, graffiti, theatre, advertising)
Representations of crime and harm can perpetuate stereotypes of offenders and perpetrators, of the criminal justice system, of where crime happens and indeed what ‘crime’ is and is not. It can reflect and confirm, or it can challenge and re-shape public understanding and governance of crime. You will be introduced to both established and emerging theoretical perspectives, as well as case studies and examples, to consider the issues raised.
Aims of the unit:
- To examine how crime and harm are represented through diverse media
- To appreciate how different theories can be applied to articulate and evidence different representations of crime and harm
- To evaluate the impact of these representations on public understanding and on the governance of crime and harm.
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of the unit, students will be able to:
- Identify and discuss how crime and harm are represented through different types of media
- Appraise representations of crime and harm in terms of their production, purpose and content
- Analyse how representations of crime and harm can influence public perceptions and crime control responses All ILOs will be assessed across summative parts 1 and 2.
Teaching Information
Students will engage with asynchronous taught content (including, for example, narrated slides and other teaching and research materials) and will be tasked to complete activities in preparation for a weekly synchronous slot (a 'seminar') to present and discuss ideas and clarify learning.
Assessment Information
Part 1: Engagement and Collaboration: evidences through portfolio of seminar-based activities (50%)
Part 2: Recorded presentation (5 minutes) with slides and/or notes and list of references (50%)
Reading and References
- Brown and Carrabine, 2018. Routledge International Handbook of Visual Criminology. London and New York: Routledge. [Available through the library as an e-book]
- Rafter, N., and Brown, B., 2018. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Crime, Media and Popular Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Available through the library as an e-book]
- Hayes, R.M. and Luther,K., 2018. #Crime: Social Media, Crime, and the Criminal Legal System. Palgrave Macmillan. [Available through the library as an e-book]
- Messent, P., 2012. The Crime Fiction Handbook. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. [Available through the library as an e-book]
- Hayward, K. and Presdee, M., 2010. Framing Crime: Cultural Criminology and the Image. Abingdon: Routledge. [Available through the library as an e-book]
- Wilson, F.T. (ed), 2015. Crime and media studies: diversity of method, medium, and communication. San Diego: Cognella. Academic Publishing
