Media and Crime

This course will introduce you to current debates concerning crime and the media. We explore how crime news is constructed rather than being purely factual and delve into topics like fake news, true crime, and crime fiction. Topics include the theoretical analysis from criminology, sociology, media studies and cultural studies to provide a critical understanding of the relationship between media and crime, as well as the ways in which crime news are constructed and leads to feelings of fear and insecurity towards certain crimes, spaces and certain social groups. After this important framework, illustrative themes are addressed to examine the extent to which crime and justice are constructed according to prevailing cultural assumptions and ideologies. This course includes discussions about social issues addressed by the media (childhood, sexuality, religion, etc.) as well as representations of crime in multiple mediums (newspaper, movies, documentaries, books, new media).

Course leader

Dr Thais Sardá, Senior Lecturer in Criminology

Target group

This course is ideal for students from any of the following disciplines -Criminology, Policing, Sociology, Communication and Media Studies, Psychology, and Law.

Course aim

This course will introduce you to current debates concerning crime and the media. We explore how crime news is constructed rather than being purely factual and delve into topics like fake news, true crime, and crime fiction.