Casing the Joint: Introducing Histories of Crime
Learn about historical approaches to the study of crime and punishment, particularly in Australia
- Duration3 weeks
- Weekly study2 hours
Casing the Joint: Introducing Histories of Crime
Delve beyond true crime podcasts, books and television series
Crime holds a special place in Australian history, having facilitated colonisation, provided its most celebrated anti-hero in Ned Kelly and been used to sell millions of newspapers, books and movie tickets. Drawing upon a rich array of digital history resources, this course offers you a guided tour of the origins of Australian underworlds and of the study of the history of crime and punishment.
This course will allow you to develop deeper understanding of the underworlds you will encounter in podcasts, televisions series and books. You will develop a sense of the processes which occur when someone becomes entangled with the legal system, and you will know where you can go to find out more about an offender and a crime for yourself.
What topics will you cover?
- Introduction to the major trends in the history of crime and punishment in Australia
- Examination of the different ways in which people engage with, and study, crime
- How British law was adapted to New South Wales and other Australian colonies
- The impact of digitisation and online sources on the study of crime
When would you like to start?
Date to be announced
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Demonstrate accessing digitised primary sources on the history of crime
- Evaluate information, ideas, and arguments about the history of crime
- Reflect on society's fascination with past crime
- Identify the methods used to record the appearance of those taken into custody
Who is the course for?
Recommended for learners age 15+
This course is for anyone interested in history, criminal law, true crime and crime fiction. It would also suit those who are interested in researching crimes and criminal offenders.
Who will you learn with?
I am an Associate Professor of History at the University of Newcastle and have been teaching Australian history since 1992. I am looking forward to taking our course to the online world.
Who developed the course?
The University of Newcastle Australia
The University of Newcastle is a world-class university distinguished by a commitment to equity and excellence. Ranked in Australia’s Top 10 universities, and 197th in the world (QS rankings, 2021).
- Established1965
- LocationNewcastle, Australia
- World rankingTop 200Source: QS World University Rankings 2021
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What's different about this course?
Since 2017 you have been able to take a degree on FutureLearn. This free course is a bit like a starter course for a degree — it should give you a flavour of the degree subject but can also be your first step towards a degree qualification.
If you enjoy this course you can apply to join the program it’s part of to start working towards a degree on FutureLearn.
Don’t worry, you can still take the course without doing a full degree!
How do degrees work on FutureLearn?
Which program and degree is this course part of?
This course is part of the program Australian Underworlds: Histories of Crime in Australia, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in Bachelor of Arts.
Crime holds a special place in Australian history.
Drawing upon innovative digital history resources, this program explores the back stories of Australia’s best known crimes and criminals.
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