Aaron Freundschuh
Course Overview: Writing on Crime and Culture in Contemporary History
Course Information
Near the end of the last century, the arrest and trial of OJ Simpson, a former professional football
player and movie star accused of double homicide, attracted an enormous spectatorship and
sparked public debate on an array of topics: racial identity in popular culture, the mass media
and the justice system; domestic violence and the cult of celebrity; legal ethics and cameras in
the courtroom—to name a few. That Simpson’s was by no means the first case to be dubbed the
“trial of the century” suggests that the dramatization of crime narratives is something of a
tradition in the US and other societies nominally built on the “rule of law.” In this course, we
will make arguments about the deeper meanings and uses of crime and its representations in
historical context. For a historical perspective on the relation between crime and mass culture,
we begin with the Paris Morgue—once a hugely popular pastime for Parisian families and
tourists—during golden age of French newspapers, allowing us to assess the ways in which
historians, critics and philosophers have linked representations of crime to modern forms of
political power. Next we turn to the Simpson case, with an analysis of a firsthand account of the
trial by the Los Angeles court’s information officer and media liaison. Finally, for the research
paper, students select a criminal case study and develop an argument about how it relates to its
historical context.
This is foremost a historical writing course, which means that our sustained focus will be on the
refinement of inquiry, analysis, and argumentation in your written work. But as we get deeper
into the sources, you’ll find that the process of academic writing parallels that of crime
investigation in important ways: both begin with a compelling problem, or “motive;” both rely
on rigorous and imaginative analysis of evidence; and both, in order to sway a targeted group of
people, necessitate forceful, well-structured arguments. It is an investigative spirit, then, that this
course will lead you to be more thoughtful and self-reflective about the writing process, and to
question and evaluate your own work in each assignment and in the course as a whole.
OVERVIEW OF ASSIGNMENTS

Paper #1: Critique a Theoretical Text (5-6pp.)
Assignment: Using Vanessa Schwartz’s case study of the Paris Morgue, critique and refine
Michel Foucault’s theory about the role of crime narratives in the reflection, and exercise, of
power in modern life.
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Common Texts:
Michel Foucault, excerpts (pp. 3-10, 58-69, 200-209) from Discipline and Punish: The Birth of
the Prison
Vanessa R. Schwartz, “The Paris Morgue: Flâneurie in the Service of the State,” from
Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in fin-de-siècle Paris
Charles Dickens, “The Uncommercial Traveller” (on a visit to the Paris Morgue)
PAPER #1 ASSIGNMENT SEQUENCE
Critique a Theoretical Text
For this paper, your assignment is to use Vanessa Schwartz’s case study of the Paris Morgue to
critique and refine Michel Foucault’s theory of the role of the role of crime narrative in the
reflection and exercise of power in modern life. In other words, this assignment allows you to
“test” a philosophical theory against the evidence fielded by an historian. Your finished paper
should be between 5-6 pages long.
To develop an argument, you will need to show how the history of the Paris Morgue alters our
initial understanding of Foucault. A good paper will push beyond mere description of Foucault
and Schwartz, (1) by weighing their respective strengths against each other; and (2) by
suggesting where future writing on the topic should go.
Goals of the Essay:
• Formulate a motivated, arguable thesis.
• Structure the essay “organically,” avoiding chronological summary, on the one hand, and the
five-paragraph essay, on the other.
• Orient your reader. You should address your essay to readers who have read some Foucault,
but not in depth. You will need to orient them with important reminders (quick summaries of
ideas and arguments), always making sure those explanations serve a purpose in your essay as a
whole (not just summary for its own sake).
• Analyze the evidence. Never assume that your readers will read a passage in the same way
that you do or that they’ll draw the same conclusions. Your analysis of the evidence should
persuade your readers of the validity of your claims.
• Use active verbs and limit your use of “to be” verbs. “To be” verbs include is, are, was, were,
be, to be, been, and being. This simple exercise will invigorate your prose, and has its best effect
if you remain aware of it as you draft and write, rather than translating sentences out of “to be”
mode once the draft is done.
• Document sources using the Chicago-style citation method.
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Pre-draft: Shared Keywords and Concepts (1 p.)
In order to contribute to an intellectual debate, authors first find common ground: shared
keywords, concepts, priorities, and themes. Your assignment for this Pre-draft is to identify and
define the most important keywords and ideas that both Foucault and Schwartz mobilize in their
arguments, and how. Be sure to include any apparent discrepancies in their definitions.
Draft
The draft you hand in should not be a “rough” one (i.e., the first thing you tap into your
computer). Rather, it should be your best possible effort at getting your ideas on paper and
shaping those ideas into a coherent and readable whole. The better your draft, the more useful
will be the feedback on it.
Essay #1 Draft Cover Letter
For the draft of Essay #1, please write a letter, addressed to your readers, in which you answer
the following questions and present any other concerns that you have. Think of the letter as an
opportunity to ask for the kind of feedback you think you particularly need. Your cover letter
should be about a page long.
• What do you see as your main idea or point?
• What are the biggest problems you’re having at this point in the writing process?
• If you were going to start revising today, what three things would you focus on?
Essay #1 Draft Response (and draft responses thereafter)
Each time you read other people’s drafts in this course, you’ll write a letter in response. You
should spend at least 30 minutes on each draft. Please be expansive and thoughtful in your
comments. Try to make comments that you think will help the writer revise. Revision literally
means “seeing again.” Your aim should be to help your colleagues see their papers in a new
light, to offer suggestions in a generous and respectful way, and to make demands that will help
guide a profound revision of the paper.
Directions
As you carefully read and re-read each essay, write marginal notes to the writer on anything that
puzzles you.
After re-reading, write a letter to the writer in which you address these questions:
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• In your own words, what’s this paper about? (What’s its idea?)
• What do you see as the strength(s) of the draft?
• Look at the Harvey’s “Writing Lexicon.” Now identify two elements that you think the writer
should focus on in revising and discuss these in relation to the draft. Try to point to specific
sentences and paragraphs whenever possible.

Paper #2: An Argument about Crime Narrative in Historical Context (5-6pp.)
Assignment: Make an argument about how Haysett’s role as a media officer for the Los Angeles
court shapes her account of the Simpson trial.
Common Readings:
Linda Williams, Playing the Race Card: Melodramas of Black and White from Uncle Tom to O.
J. Simpson
Ronald N. Jacobs, “Narrative, Civil Society and Public Culture,” in Molly Andrews et al., eds.,
The Uses of Narrative: Explorations in Sociology, Psychology, and Cultural Studies.
Jerrianne Haysett, Anatomy of a Trial: Public Loss, Lessons Learned from The People vs. O.J.
Simpson
PAPER #2 ASSIGNMENT SEQUENCE
An Argument about Crime Narrative(s) in Historical Context
For this paper, you will produce original analysis of Anatomy of a Trial as you develop an
argument about how to understand the account in relation to its context.
Your paper will use Anatomy of a Trial as an entry point into the vast field of representations
sparked by the OJ Simpson affair, and offer insights into how crime narratives relate to the world
in which they are made. Because the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman
inspired so many competing interpretations – each drawing upon its own specific theoretical
perspectives or political motivations – you should define your angle on Haysett’s account early
and avoid rehearsing significant portions of the case in your discussion.
Goals of the Essay
With this essay, you will continue to work on the goals you had with Essay #1: developing and
stating a clear thesis and motive, supporting your argument with textual evidence and analysis,
structuring your essay in a logical, non-repetitive way, and orienting your reader. This time
around, we’ll be refining these skills and adding a few others:
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• Open with an engaging lead-in and introduction (among other things, making the motivating
problem clear) and drawing out the implication(s) of the argument in the essay’s conclusion.
• Integrate primary- and secondary-source material into an analysis of a primary text.
Using secondary sources to support or authorize your own analysis is the weakest of several
ways to integrate this kind of material into your essay. You can also use secondary sources to
(1) establish a problem or question worth addressing (i.e., a motivating problem or question), (2)
supply context, background, or information, (3) provide key terms or concepts, and (4) grapple
with another opinion or interpretation (such as found in literary criticism).
Pre-Draft: Reading the account of the trial alongside other sources
Having read the firsthand account, and as you read through your sources, take notes and then
briefly summarize the aspect of the Simpson case that you’ve chosen to explore. As you write,
think about how you will use a reading of some aspect of Haysett’s book to introduce a
motivated thesis.
Essay #2 Draft Cover Letter
Please write a letter, addressed to your readers, in which you answer the following questions and
present any other concerns that you have. This letter should run about three-quarters to a full
page long.
• What do you see as your thesis, or main idea?
• What do you see as your motivating problem? (Remember, your motivating problem is your
intellectual reason for writing the essay, the reason the argument needs to be made and thus
read. Its signal word is “but” or “however.”)
• What are the biggest problems you’re having at this point in the writing process?
Paper #3: Research Paper Proposal: Presenting your work to colleagues
This paper proposal will put forth your argument for undertaking the research topic you’ve
chosen. Write a 400- to 500-word proposal—a discussion of the specific question, problem, or
issue to be addressed, why it’s interesting, some of the sources you’re likely to discuss, and some
of the turns the argument is likely to take. Think of this as a “pitch” of your idea for an
interesting research paper on a criminal case of your choice; that is, write a research proposal
that defines your topic, presents a motivating problem, and offers a working thesis statement.
Follow this up with a short list of sources that you have already consulted or intend to consult.
Pre-Draft: Informal (5-minute) presentation of the proposal to the class, with some
visual support.
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
Paper #4: Research Paper on a Historical Case Study
Assignment: Choose a criminal case and develop an argument about its significance in relation
to the historical context in which it unfolded.
Reading:
Carlo Ginzburg, “Clues: Roots of a Scientific Paradigm”
PAPER #4 ASSIGNMENT SEQUENCE
Research Paper on a Historical Case Study
In this project you will face a new set of challenges, such as selecting a feasible and interesting
research topic. You’ll choose a criminal case and develop an argument about its relationship to
the historical context in which it unfolded. Your treatment of the case should bring order to its
various representations (narrative forms or media) and make an argument for its broader
political, social, or cultural significance.
Goals of the Essay
The goals of this essay are for you to carve from the assignment a topic that interests you, to do
research, to use your research to make an argument while evaluating different kinds of sources in
an essay.
Pre-Draft 1: Identifying a Topic and a Motivating Problem
Locate and carefully examine some sources for your paper, then discuss it/them in a few pages,
making sure to focus on some problematic aspect—a question, a contradiction, something
curious that remains unanswered or unaddressed. If possible, also include a list (or the start of a
list) of sources that you think will help you situate and/or address this problem.
Essay #4 Draft Cover Letter
Please write a letter, addressed to your readers, in which you answer the following questions and
present any other concerns that you have. This letter should be typed and should be about threequarters to a full page long. Attach it to the front of your essay.
• What do you see as your main idea or point? What do you see as your motivating problem?
• Which paragraph (except for the introduction) do you think is most successful and why?
Which is least successful and why?
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• What’s the number one question about your essay—its thesis, structure, use of evidence, use of
sources, style, etc.—that you’d like your readers to answer for you? What is your specific
concern about that topic?
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