Investigating True Crime

Course Description

The true crime genre has become ubiquitous across mediascapes. From documentaries and books to podcasts and film, many forms of media are telling ‘true’ stories of crime. But where do these stories come from? How are they made? Who makes decisions about how they are told? And what does it mean that so many of us consume this content and are fans of these types of stories (e.g., Dahmer, Netflix; The Staircase, HBO; Serial, Serial Productions)?

We will investigate these questions and more in Investigating True Crime. We will investigate true crime stories across different media, which may include watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, reading stories, and an historical crime walking tour. Students may also have a chance to encounter the criminal justice system through a visit to the courthouse and/or conversations with people who have experienced the system themselves (e.g., lawyers, corrections officers).

The week’s major project will task students with making decisions to portray a ‘true crime’ of their own. Working in teams, and with the support of experts (e.g., Teaching and Learning Services, media services, university television studio), students will be able to make and present their own ‘true crime’ productions.


NOTE: this class may contain some material that is sensitive in nature as we will be talking about criminal cases that often involve violent crimes.