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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: April 14, 2007
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ/SOCA 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.

* * * * *

Week 14: Week of April 15, 2007

Topic: The Media and Criminal Justice Policy

Preparatory Readings:



• Rafter. Shots in the Mirror. Chapter -- .
• Surette. Media, Crime and Criminal Justice . Chapter 8.
• Potter and Kappeler. Constructing Crime . entirety.
• Movie Clip: "--- " (to be shown in class).
  
  

Lecture related links:



• Ray Surette's website
• W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
• Metaphor and Theory. The Blind Men and the Elephant fable.
• Join the Yahoo Discussion Group with CSUDH students
  
  




Concepts to be covered:



• backwards laws
• episodic format
• thematic format
• mainstreaming
• echo effect



Discussion Questions:

Note: Be sure to incorporate the movie clip, "---" in your answers.


1. Discuss a recent local crime or criminal justice event that resulted in heavy media coverage and calls for a change in a criminal justice policy. Discuss how the competing constructions of the issue are being framed, whether the event is becoming a symbolic crime, and whether a policy change is likely to occur. [Surette, p. 221]

2. Which component of the criminal justice system adheres most to the law of opposites (is portrayed in the media least like its actual reality)? [Surette, p. 221]

3. Does the media have too much influence on society? What should be done in the area of crime and justice concerning the media? Why. [Surette, 1998, p. 238-239]



Dates and Deadlines




April 16th -- Sign up for "second meeting".

April 23rd through April 25th - Second Meetings (40% of course grade).

Friday, April 27th, beginning of class - The Final Absolute Deadline. All course related work due including Visual Presentations II, (20% of your course grade). Late materials will not be accepted.

Friday, May 4th - The Last Day of Class.




Suggested Creative Measures:




Note: Your creative measure/visual presentation: 1) must relate to "media, crime, and the criminal justice system." 2) must be approved via email BEFORE starting. 3) cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. 4) research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). Must conduct a review of the scholarly literature in the library, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). Go beyond the required readings in this course. YOU MUST CITE YOUR SOURCES that backup your visual presentations. No term papers! 5) Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measure in class (preferably before the deadline).



• Some reference sources that you might find helpful:

  Evaluating Authority
  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. An excellent resource for juvenile justice related issues.
  National Criminal Justice Resource Service. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
  
  

• Make an "explosion box/card" that focuses on this week's topic, "The Media and Criminal Justice Policy."
• Watch the film Bonfires of the Vanities (1990) or Natural Born Killers (1994) and discuss the media construction of the news media's role in crime and justice. [Surette, pl 221]
• Select a recent criminal justice issue (i.e., gangs, death penalty, terrorism) and trace the public attitudes and beliefts.
• Explore how much time people (i.e., children, teenagers, young adults, older adults, the elderly) spend time watching television? surfing the Internet? going to the movies? listening to the radio?
• Research the War on Drugs and other drug related measures. Who is winning this war?Why.



Recommended Readings:



• Samuel Walker. Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs: A Policy Guide.
• J. Carlson. Prime Time Enforcement.
• Ray Surette. Justice and the Media.
• Ray Surette. The Media and Criminal Justice Policy.
  
  
• Charles Derber. People Before Profit.
• Paul Klugman. The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century.
• Robert W. Chesney. Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times.
• 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.
• 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.
• Internet Movie Database