CRMJ/SOCA 385: Media, Crime, Criminal Justice.

A Justice Site

Media, Crime, Criminal Justice
Fall 2008
Mirror Sites:
CSUDH - Habermas - UWP - Archives

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: November 6, 2008
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ 385 Media, Crime, Criminal Justice
You will be held accountable for the readings and discussion questions listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

"Media, Crime, Criminal Justice" Cards

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Week 12: Week of November 16, 2008

Monday, November 17th -- Deadline for one-page second visual project progress report. You should be researching your pre-approved visual project topic.
Beginning Monday, November 17th -- Sign up for your second meeting. These meetings to begin on Monday, December 1st.
Topic: Media and Crime Control
Preparatory Readings:

Rafter . Shots in the Mirror. Chapters 7.
Surette . Media, Crime and Criminal Justice . Chapters 7.
Potter and Kappeler. Constructing Crime. - entire text.
Movie: "Reefer Madness" (to be shown in class)

Metaphor and Theory. Read the Blind Men and the Elephant fable. Think about how this fable relates to the course.
"theory, policy, practice"
W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation

Lecture related links:

Sociology of Knowledge Files
Ray Surette's website
Internet Movie Database

Concepts to be covered:

the different types of crime film narratives
the different types of crime film heroes
prosocial television
public service announcements (PSAs)
anticrime efforts
offender deterrence programs
victimization reduction programs

Discussion Questions:

Note: Incorporate this week's movie into your answers.
Briefly describe each different type of crime film narrative. Today, which type of crime film narrative is the most popular? Why. Provide an example to better illustrate your point. In Rafter's discussion of the types of crime film heroes, which is the most prevalent today? Why. Provide an example to better illustrate your point.
Do you think the media are more effective at influencing offenders or victims of crime? [Surette, 1998, p. 193]
Why has media technology been so readily embraced as a solution for various criminal justice tasks? [Surette, p. 197]
Where and when are surveillance cameras acceptable? Does it matter if they are hidden or openly viewed? Does it matter who is watching? Do people have the right to be informed that they are within the view of a surveillance system? [Surette, p. 197]
Are the media more effective as a cure for crime or more damaging as a cause of crime? Why. [Surette, 1998, p. 193]

Suggested Visual Projects/Creative Measures:
Note: Your visual projects/creative measure: a) Must relate to "media, crime, and the criminal justice system." b) Must be approved before starting your creative measure. c) Cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. d) Research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). e) Must conduct library research using scholarly works, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). No term papers! Email me your visual project idea/topic.

Make an "explosion box" or a card that focuses on this week's topic, "Media & Crime Control ."
Watch the film, Enemy of the State and discuss the concerns of living in a high-surveillance society. [Surette, p.197]
Trace a recent example of a media-based anticrime effort. How successful was this effort? Why.
Research CrimeStoppers International and other comparable programs. How successful are such programs? Why.
Explore what media technologies your local criminal justice system is using.
View and critique the film, Reefer Madness. How does this film relate to "media as a cure for crime"? Why

Self-Assessment Questions for each Visual Project:

List the names of the individuals in your group. What did you do exactly for this visual project? (If in a group, explain the division of labor and your individual contribution to this visual project). Describe the small item that you made for visitors to your visual project to "take away."
Explain in depth, how your visual project specifically relates to "media, crime, criminal justice" (i.e., the readings, the documentaries, class discussions, major concepts). Explain how the interrelationship of "theory, policy, practice" applies to your visual project. What did you learn?
Assess how the 6Cs apply to your visual project, with special attention on competence and creativity. What is your visual project self-assessment (provide a letter grade) ___ ? Explain why this particular grade.

Recommended Readings:

Ray Surette. Justice and the Media.
Ray Surette. The Media and Criminal Justice Policy.
G.O'Keefe. Taking the Bite Out of Crime: The Impact of a Mass Media Crime Prevention Campaign
D. Rosenbaum. Crime Stoppers: A National Evaluation of Program Operations and Effects.

Gaye Tuchman. Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality.
Bernard Goldberg. Arrogance: Rescuing America from the Media Elite.
Bernard Goldberg. Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distorts the News.
Steven Levy. The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness.

Internet Movie Database

Lawrence Lessig. Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Stanford University, has made his book free online.
Course Syllabus for CRMJ 385 "Media, Crime, Criminal Justice"

Media Sources:

Left/Right Perspectives - Cursor - New York Times
Arts and Letters Daily - The Economist - The Guardian
Wall Street Journal -The Weekly Standard - The Nation
Los Angeles Times - Chicago Tribune - The Washington Post
Cursor's Al Jazeera Archive - Ha'aretz - Palestine Monitor

Indymedia - BBC News - New Profile - Progressive Sociologists Network

takata@uwp.edu

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