B9058 - Crime and Media

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be familiar with the main criminological approaches explaining the relationship between crime, culture and media; they will be able to critically analyse media narratives and recent crime, deviance and control phenomena emerging in digital societies, relying on contemporary examples and on the related scientific literature.

Course contents

The course explores the intersection between crime and the media, with particular attention to how deviance and criminality are represented across various mediums, including television, newspapers, cinema, literature, and social media. It also examines criminologically significant phenomena that characterise contemporary digital society, such as digital vigilantism and the spread of fake news. The course aims to foster a critical and sociological approach among students toward the narratives, images, and phenomena of deviance, crime, and social control that are constructed and reproduced through the media.

In the first part of the course, students will be introduced to the main theoretical frameworks developed within criminology in the broad field of crime and media studies, with a particular focus on traditional media. The second part addresses forms of deviance, criminality, control, and harm specific to today’s digital society, drawing on examples from recent literature in digital criminology. The third part focuses on what can be considered ‘classic’ themes within the cultural criminology of media, such as the criminalization of music (and other creative cultural expressions), representations of policing in literature and television, and the phenomenon of dark tourism.

Readings/Bibliography

This course - which is taught in Italian - is particularly recommended for students with a good proficiency in English, as the texts required for the exam are mostly written in English. It is also open to Erasmus students.

Required readings for all students:

1) Greer, C., & McLaughlin, E. (2023). Crime news, trial by media, and scandal hunting. In The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch. 1.

2) Stratton, G., Powell, A., & Cameron, R. (2017). Crime and justice in digital society: Towards a 'digital criminology'? International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 6(2), 17-33.

3) Fileborn, B. (2017). Justice 2.0: Street harassment victims’ use of social media and online activism as sites of informal justice. British Journal of Criminology, 57(6), 1482-1501.

4) Lavorgna, A. (2021) Social harm in pandemic times. In Information Pollution as Social Harm: Investigating the Digital Drift of Medical Misinformation in a Time of Crisis. Emerald Insights. Ch. 1.

5) Yar, M. (2012). Crime, media and the will-to-representation: Reconsidering relationships in the new media age. Crime, Media, Culture, 8(3), 245-260.

6) Sugiura, L. (2021). An Introduction to Incel. In: The Incel Rebellion: The Rise of the Manosphere and the Virtual War Against Women. Emerald Publishing Lmt. Ch. 1.

7) Hadjimatheou, K. (2021). Citizen-led digital policing and democratic norms: The case of self-styled paedophile hunters. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 21(4), 547-565.

8) Wood, M. A., & McGovern, A. (2020). Memetic copaganda: Understanding the humorous turn in police image work. Crime, Media, Culture, 17(3), 305-326.

9) Selmini, R. (2017). Da Kurt Wallander a Salvo Montalbano: Polizia e poliziotti nella letteratura europea contemporanea. Carocci editore. Chapters 1 and 2.

10) Fatsis, L. (2019). Grime: Criminal subculture or public counterculture? A critical investigation into the criminalization of Black musical subcultures in the UK. Crime, Media, Culture, 15(3), 447-461. // Or, in alternative: Saitta, P. (2023). Violenta Speranza: Trap e riproduzione del “panico morale” in Italia. Ombre Corte. Capitolo 3.

 

Non-attending students are also required to study Chapters 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 of the following book: Clifford, K., & White, R. (2017). Media and Crime: Content, Context, and Consequence. Oxford University Press.

Teaching methods

Lectures will be delivered in person in Italian. The course also includes the screening of sections of films and TV series related to the course topics, followed by class discussions, as well as occasional guest lectures by national and international experts.

Assessment methods

For attending students: group presentation in class and a shortened written exam (only 2 questions).

For non-attending students: written exam (3 questions).

The exam can be completed in both Italian or English. 

The exam texts differ depending on whether the student is attending or non-attending. Students are invited to consult the course page on Virtuale for further information.

 

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Teaching support materials include PowerPoint presentations and audiovisual materials (films, documentaries).

Office hours

See the website of Anna Di Ronco