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credits

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While stories of allegedly true crimes have long fascinated the American public, the last decade has seen an astonishing proliferation of media depicting real (and fabricated) crime and policing events. In this course, we will examine how crime media—from true-crime documentaries to YouTube interrogation-analysis videos and online “citizen sleuth” forums—shapes and is shaped by complex collaborations and conflicts among state actors, large media conglomerates, and the public. By “following the money,” students will explore the commercial, cultural, and political stakes of crime storytelling in the digital age, drawing insight into how these narratives legitimize or destabilize practices of law enforcement, surveillance, and punishment in the US.