COURSE TRAILER

This course explores organized crime as interrelated social phenomena. Students read sociologists, historians, and other social scientists addressing the nature, causes and consequences of mafias in different national and historical contexts. The phenomenon of organized crime is further scrutinized through its (mis)representation in classic and modern cinematic works. Throughout the course, students develop an increased awareness of the interconnectedness of organized crime with war, capitalism, ghettoization, patrimonialism, the modern nation-state, and globalization. Students become aware of the veracity and limitations of portrayals of gangsters in film.