Crime & Justice in the Media

Catalog description

This course focuses on the impact of media on Americans’ perceptions and understanding of the extent and causes of crime, and the effectiveness and purposes of crime policy. It examines how criminals, types of crime, crime policies and the criminal justice system are portrayed in various media outlets, including film, tv, newspaper, and electronic/internet. It explores the historical and contemporary relationships between media representations of criminal behavior, crime as a social problem, and the nature of the criminal justice system and contrasts these to their social realities.