Indiana State University Newsroom

From comic book super heroes to terrorist recruitment in prisons, crime and its confluence with pop culture and the media will be under discussion at Indiana State University.

Scholars from more than 10 countries will be at Indiana State for the International Crime, Media and Popular Culture Studies Conference Oct. 5- 7. Opening session begins at 8:15 a.m. in the University Hall Theater. The conference is sponsored by Indiana State's department of criminology and criminal justice.

More than 100 attendees from 10 countries are expected to attend the conference, which encourages an international cross-disciplinary exchange between academic scholars and practitioners who are engaged in research, teaching and practices associated with crime, media and popular culture.

"This conference and the department of criminology and criminal justice at Indiana State represent a movement to further this area of study in the field of criminology," said Frank Wilson, Indiana State assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice and chair of the International Crime, Media and Popular Culture Studies Conference.

Experts during the conference will be discussing issues regarding "Terrorism and Fear Post 9/11," "Utopian Imaginings: The Comic Superhero's Quest to Eradicate Crime" and "Crime and Clothes in American Culture." In addition to featured speakers, there also are panel discussions throughout the three days of the conference.

Featured speakers in the University Hall Theater on Monday, Oct. 5, are:
• Jeff Ferrell, a criminal justice professor at Texas Christian University, at 9 a.m. on "Crisis Culture: Shaking the Social Order."
• Victor Kappeler, professor and chair of criminal justice and police studies at Eastern Kentucky University, at 10 a.m. on "Cultural Criminology, Popular Culture and Media Studies: Where have all the Marxists Gone?"
• David Altheide, professor of justice and social inquiry at Arizona State University, at 11 a.m. on "Terrorism and Fear Post 9/11."

In a panel discussion at 2 p.m. Monday in Dede II, Mark Hamm, Indiana State University professor of criminology and criminal justice, will speak on trends in prisoner radicalization and terrorist recruitment. During the same session, Roberta Novis from the London School of Economics will be speaking on the social organization of prisons in Rio de Janeiro.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m., nationally known slam poet, Taylor Mali will be the keynote speaker in the University Hall Theater. He also will be performing at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening in University Hall Theater. Tickets are $12 for the evening performance.

Featured speakers in the University Hall Theater on Tuesday are:
• Brett Mervis, from the University of South Florida, at 2 p.m. on "Rest in Peace T-shirts: An Exploratory Study of the Phenomenon in Media and Popular Culture."
• Gregory Snyder, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at Baruch College, at 3 p.m. on "Graffiti Lives: Youth Culture, Hip Hop and Beyond."
• Robert Weide, from New York University, at 4 p.m. on "Freight Train Graffiti: A Subculture Within a Subculture."

On Wednesday, Stephen Belber, an acclaimed playwright, screenplay writer and director, will give Wednesday's keynote address at 4 p.m. in Dede I. Then at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the New Theater, the play "Tape," which Belber wrote, will be performed. Tickets are $7.

Featured speakers on Wednesday, Oct. 7, are:
• Nickie Phillips, assistant professor of criminal justice and sociology at St. Francis College, and Staci Strobl, assistant professor of law, police science and criminal justice administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, at 9 a.m. on "Utopian Imaginings: The Comic Superhero's Quest to Eradicate Crime."
• Frankie Bailey, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Albany, at 10 a.m. on "Crime and Clothes in American Culture."
• Vikas Gumbhir, from Gonzaga University, at 11 a.m. on "And All the Pieces Matter: The Reproduction of Urban Inequality in ‘The Wire.'"

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Writer: Jennifer Sicking, Indiana State University, assistant director of media relations, at 812-237-7972 or jennifer.sicking@indstate.edu

Graphic: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/photos/666924963_8NjHQ-L.jpg