191-438 Storytelling and Crime

Note

This is a methods course.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Any criminology, sociology, political science, history or cultural studies course taken at second-year level or above.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

A critical examination of the way crime participants tell stories about crime. It analyses the 'voices' and scripts used by victims, bystanders, offenders, police, judges, prosecutors, official statisticians, the media and criminologists. The course looks at the social context of the stories, the spaces opened up (or legitimated) by the narratives, and the identities being constructed by the stories. Students who complete this course should be able to interpret critically stories of current criminological interest, such as police 'crime wave' reports, victim impact statements, road accident commercials and war atrocity stories, be able to find and follow current crime stories on the Internet, such as death penalty cases, 'terrorist' campaigns, political corruption trials or war crime prosecutions, be able to analyse critically the purpose of the crime stories, their marketing and their audiences.

Assessment

Up to 5000 words of written work at 3rd year level and 6000 words at 4th year level. Students may be required to prepare and make class presentations and follow crime stories on the Internet.

Prescribed Texts

None. A virtual reader will be provided, supplemented by a reading pack of other useful materials.

• Plummer, K. (1995), Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds. London, Routledge.
• Gilligan, C. (1982), In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
• Sparks, R. (1995), Television and the Drama of Crime: Moral Tales and the Place of Crime in Public Life. Buckingham, Open University Press.