Prompts (choose one): “When it comes to crime and justice, reality and representation are indistinguishable.”
2. “It is crucial that criminologists examine how crime and justice are represented in popular culture.”
3. “We cannot say that representations of crime and justice are ‘just’ (i.e., merely) entertainment. Rather, we must consider whether such representations are ‘just’ (i.e., ethical) forms of entertainment.”
4. “It is more important to interrogate how something is represented than it is to interrogate what is represented.”
5. Lastly, “Cultural representations of crime and justice are expressions of their social and historical context.”
Topics (choose two):
1. Sexual violence
2. Race
3. Serial killing
4. Terrorism
5. Hope & Dystopia
6. True Crime
Critically discuss one of the following prompts, with reference to two topics from the later weeks of the subject.
In responding to the prompt, you must formulate and advance a central argument. To substantiate your argument, you should conduct an original analysis of one film or television program of your choice.
You should also support your argument by engaging with scholarly materials sourced through independent research (i.e., reading beyond those sources listed in the required and recommended readings).
NB: You cannot analyse the same film or television program you analysed for your first assessment.
You should also draw from concepts and theories discussed throughout the subject.
The purposes of this assignment are:
To develop your understanding of concepts used in the substantive sections of the subject;
Also to develop your ability to analyse cultural representations of crime, law and justice;
Also, to develop your ability to synthesise and criticise arguments found in the lectures and readings;
Lastly, to develop your ability to use those concepts to write coherently and critically about those representations.
You will be marked according to the following criteria:
How well does the essay respond to the prompt?
Also, how directly does the essay engage with the subject’s topics and themes?
Argument and Analysis
How effectively does the essay formulate, substantiate, and advance its central argument?
Additionally, how sophisticated is the essay’s critical analysis of its chosen film/television program, and how effectively is this deployed in support of the essay’s central argument?
Also, how effectively and critically does the essay engage with relevant scholarly literature?
And, how extensively is the essay informed by independent research?
Writing and Rhetoric
How effective is the essay’s structure?
Also, how well does the essay deploy the conventions of academic writing?
And, how precise is the essay’s referencing?
Attachments
