Through the analysis of a variety of visual, written, and/or musical texts, this course will explore what it means to label—or be labeled as—a “criminal.” We will examine the roles institutions, disciplines, and media outlets play in constructing and circulating narratives about criminality, as well as the implications of these narratives in the cultural understanding of criminality. Research questions that will guide our approach include: How is “the criminal” represented, and by whom? How has the figure of the criminal been both demonized and celebrated? How do documentary accounts of criminality compare with fictional accounts? How have ideas of “the criminal” changed in the 20th and 21st centuries? Students will complete a research project and a final creative project in which they apply the themes of the course; these projects will challenge students to examine how depictions of crime have real-world consequences for the ways we interact with one another and the criminal justice system.
