Skip to 0 minutes and 0 seconds What is our attraction to watching or reading about crime? Is it curiosity about the lives of those who dwell in criminal underworlds and how they got there? Are we fascinated by the motive or the crime itself? Do we want to be shocked, consoled, or repulsed by the actions of criminals and their motivations?
Skip to 0 minutes and 25 seconds Join me, associate Professor Nancy Cushing as I introduce the study of the history of crime. In this course, you will learn how to research both well known and more obscure crimes in the broader framework of Australia’s past. Along the way, we will examine how a new generation of historians are using digitized sources to develop fresh insights into the past. We’ll also study the appearance of past offenders in written descriptions and in photographs, and consider what it meant to look like a criminal. This introduction to the history of Australian Underworlds will provide you with a deeper understanding of crime in society and invite you to look beyond the high emotions that make criminal pasts so compelling.
