Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide

by Philip Jenkins

Overview

First published in 1994, this book investigates the social construction of serial homicide and assesses the concern that popular fears and stereotypes have exaggerated: the actual scale of multiple homcide. Jenkins has produced an innovative synthesis of approaches to social problem construction that includes an historical and social-scientific estimate of the objective scale of serial murder; a rhetorical analysis of the contruction of the phenomenom in public debate; a cultural studies-oriented analysis of the portrayal of serial murder in contemorary media.

Chapters include: "The Construction of Problems and Panic," which covers areas such as comprehending murder, dangerous outsiders, and the rhetoric of perscution; "The Reality of Serial Murder," which discusses statistics, stereotype examination, and media patterns;"Popular Culture: Images of the Serial Killer"; "The Racial Dimension: Serial Murder as Bias Crime"; and "Darker than We Imagine"; "Cults and Conspiracies."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351328425
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/08/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	262
Lexile:	1490L (what's this?)
File size:	477 KB

About the Author

Philip Jenkins

Table of Contents

Contents: 1. The construction of problems and panics 2. The reality of serial murder 3. The role of the Justice Department 4. Popular culture: images of the serial killer 5. Serial murder as modern mythology 6, The social critique "the kind of society we have now" 7. Everyman: serial murder as 'femicide' 8. The racial dimension: serial mider as bias crime 9. "A homosexual who could strikie again" 10. "Darker than we imagine": cults and conspiracies 11. Conclusion: making and establishing claims