CRIME AND MEDIA - 2023/4

Module Overview

The relationships between crime and the media have long been the subject of intense debate. This module introduces students to the sociological analysis of crime and its representation in the media. We will examine how crime is portrayed by the media and we ask whether such representations are accurate or distorted and why. We also examine what effects, if any, these representations have on offending and public opinion about crime and on criminal justice

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

AKRIVOS Dimitris (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The media construction of deviance, crime, criminals and criminal justice


• The relationships between the media portrayals of crime and offending in ‘the real world’ 


• The impact of media representations on public attitudes towards crime and justice


• The media’s contribution to criminal justice and crime control


• Moral panics and the media

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the module learning outcomes as follows:

The presentation encourages students to critically engage with the sociological analysis of the representation of crime in the media, focusing on learning objective 1, but also providing an opportunity for students to demonstrate learning outcomes 2 and 3.

The essay enables students to show evidence of all three learning objectives, asking them to demonstrate their understanding of relevant theories of crime and media, by developing an argument which critically engages with relevant literature.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Presentation, in which students are asked to critically reflect on the representation of crime in media. Deadline in week 8.


• 2,000 word essay on one of the key topics in the course. Deadline in week 12.

Module aims

• Introduce students to the sociological analysis of the representation of crime in the media
• Familiarise students with debates about the relationship between media, public attitudes and offending
• Introduce students to the relationship between moral panics and the media

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enable students to engage critically with the module content and reading, encouraging active participation and independent thinking.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• 11 x 2 hour sessions, each integrating lecture material with interactive discussions and exercises


• Weekly reading and seminar preparation

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: SOC2067

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.