The University of Hong Kong Media and crime
Offer semester
1st semester
Lecture time
Thursday 19:00 – 21:50
Lecture venue
CPD-LG.34
Course description
The media is said to play a vital part in facilitating the public’s conceptions of crime – shaping people’s images, heightening their fears and anxieties over particular “types of people and behavior,” and demanding policymakers and politicians to do “something about it.” Consequently, these demands to “do something” shape social control policies.
This course is designed to look at the different ways media shape our ideas and responses to crime by examining the local popular press, international media and the entertainment industry.
Course learning outcomes
- Recognize how the media assembles crime and criminal justice stories, especially in relation to particular types of behaviour and people
- Explain and apply theories about the media’s role in the definition and construction of crime and social control responses
- Demonstrate expertise of a specific chosen crime issue by engaging in intensive, independently researched reflective writing
- Synthesize, design and inspire discussions on current issues and problems related to new media’s impact on our understanding of crime
Assessment
| Tasks | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Individual reflective writing | 40% |
| Midterm essay | 25% |
| Group project | 35% |
Required reading
Hayes, R. M., & Luther, K. (2018). # Crime: Social Media, Crime, and the Criminal Legal System. Springer.
https://link-springer-com.eproxy.lib.hku.hk/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-89444-7
The course syllabus lists other required readings for this course. Below are some supplemental, but not required readings, for students who are interested in reading further about media and crime.
Recommended reading
Greer, C. (Ed.). (2019). Crime and Media: A Reader. London: Routledge
https://doi-org.eproxy.lib.hku.hk/10.4324/9780367809195
Jewkes, Y. (2015). Media and Crime. London: Sage
See also on-line, Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture and Crime Media Culture: An International Journal for articles on crime, the media and popular culture.