“The discipline of criminology is far more than just the study of crime” says course leader Dr Hannah Thurston. Here she suggests some documentaries, TV shows, podcasts and reading material to get you thinking about some of the topics you will cover on the course.

TV shows and accompanying reading for criminology students

Dark Tourist: This series follows a man who travels to various dark tourist sites around the world including active war zones, sites of radiation, narco-tourism and sites of genocide. As with all these types of programmes, please do try and watch them through a critical lens. In fact, why not complement this TV series with these two readings:

• Jack the Ripper and the commodification of sexual violence
• Are dark tourism performances of gulag life educational or voyeuristic?

13^th: This is an incredible documentary about the US prison industrial complex which explores the connection between incarceration, race and criminal (in)justice. It presents a compelling account of how the law enables police to arrest people (often black – often men – often poor) and force them to work for the state. If you find this documentary interesting, might also like:

• Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex
• Globalism and the prison industrial complex

Orange is the New Black: This American series follows the life of Piper, a woman who is sent to prison when her past catches up with her. With its focus on women, the show initially appears to offer a more sensitive and humanising portrayal of offenders. However, a closer reading exposes the all too familiar tropes of misogyny, racism and heteronormativity. If you did want to learn more about how OITNW leans into these tropes, why not read:

• The Color Orange? Social Justice Issues in the First Season of Orange Is the New Black.
• If Orange Is the New Black, I Must Be Color Blind: Comic Framings of Post-Racism in the Prison Industrial Complex

The Long Shadow: this is a 7-part mini-series first shown on ITV which tells the story of the five year hunt for Peter Sutcliffe, a killer also known as ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’. This show is a little different to most others in the genre, as it places more focus on the victims of Sutcliffe, and also details the many ways in which the police failed those victims repeatedly.  If you’d like a couple of readings which will complement this TV show, maybe try:

• Is sex work still the most dangerous profession? The data suggests so.
• ‘It was toxic’: how sexism threw police off the trail of the Yorkshire Ripper.

Podcasts for an enquiring mind!

• British Society of Criminology podcast series
• Justice Focus
• Eyes Left
• Oxford Criminology Podcast

Find out about studying Criminology at the University of Brighton.