module specification

SC5050 - Crime, Media and Technology (2017/18)

Module specification Module approved to run in 2017/18
Module title Crime, Media and Technology
Module level Intermediate (05)
Credit rating for module 15
School School of Social Sciences
Total study hours 150
 
45 hours Scheduled learning & teaching activities
105 hours Guided independent study
Assessment components
Type Weighting Qualifying mark Description
Oral Examination 40%   In-class discussion
Coursework 60%   Literature review
Running in 2017/18

(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change)
Period Campus Day Time Module Leader
Autumn semester North Wednesday Afternoon

Module summary

This module looks at the media impact on public perceptions of crime and justice.
It also looks at the way contemporary media and technologies influence criminal behaviour and influence the operations of the criminal justice system; and the emerging forms of deviant behaviour facilitated by contemporary technology and media.

Module aims

  1. Consider the various relationships between media, technology and crime
  2. Develop an understanding of the role of the media in shaping perceptions of crime and criminal justice, with a particular emphasis on minoritized groups
  3. Develop an awareness and familiarity with the emerging forms of deviant behaviour facilitated by contemporary technologies and/or the media
  4. Provide an overview of the way technologies interact with crime and the criminal justice system
  5. Provide students with an opportunity to develop their academic and digital literacies to enhance their learning experience
  6. Develop summarising and analytical skills

 

Syllabus

The module will consider the various relationships between media, technology and crime and will investigate the role of the media in shaping perceptions of crime and criminal justice.
It will look at how technology both affects and is affected by crime and the criminal justice system and will link forms of deviant behaviour to various forms of technology. Areas studied include the manufacturing of crime news, cybercrime, crime and violence, terrorism and drug taking and technology.

Learning and teaching

The module is organised on the basis of three hours per week comprising lectures, seminars workshops and blended learning sessions. Students are expected to undertake approximately 7 hours per week of independent research, study and writing.
Students are encouraged to build their digital literacies and engage with a range of technologies to enhance their learning experience.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

  1. Analyse the various relationships between media, technology and crime
  2. Critically evaluate the ways in which the media influences perceptions and opinions of crime and criminal justice.
  3. Link deviant behaviour to various forms of technology and/or media
  4. Demonstrate how technologies interact with crime and the Criminal Justice System
  5. Summarise, critically analyse and reflect on media research and/or articles

Assessment strategy

The first is an analysis and discussion of an academic article or piece of media research. (LOs 1, 5)

The second is a literature review (2000 words) which builds upon the first assessment and requires students summarise, synthesise and analyse a range of chosen readings(LOs 2, 3, and 4)

Bibliography

Cohen, S. (2002) Folk Devils and Moral Panics: the Creation of the Mods and Rockers, 3rd edition, London: Routledge
Greer, C.  (ed.) (2010) Crime and Media: a Reader, London: Routledge, Section Five
Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., Roberts, B. (1978) Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State and Law and Order, London: Macmillan
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2008). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. Random House.
Jewkes, Y. (2015) Crime and Media, 3rd edition, London: SAGE Publications
McGuire M. (2012) Technology, Crime and Justice, London: Routledge
Moore, S.E., (2014). Crime and the Media. Palgrave Macmillan.

Muncie, J. (2009) Youth and Crime, 3rd edition, London: SAGE Publications

Springhall, J. (1998) Youth, Popular Culture and Moral Panics: Penny Gaffs to Gangsta-Rap 1830-1996, Basingstoke: Macmillan Press

Wall, D. S. (2007) Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age. Wiley