Modern Crime: Jack the Ripper (FNDS 3402)
During the summer and fall of 1888, five prostitutes were gruesomely murdered in Whitechapel, a district in the East End of London.
The killer, who identified himself as “Jack the Ripper” was never identified and the unsolved case has been the focus of amateur sleuths and detectives (known as “Ripperologists”) for over 100 years.
It has also been the topic of media attention and sensationalism, both then and now. It has spawned numerous tabloid articles, books (both non-fiction and fiction), movies, websites and blogs. There is even a Jack the Ripper musical. Jack the Ripper was, in many ways, the first modern serial killer and the case provides students with a unique view of issues of class, gender and race as they relate to society, crime and the media, both then and now.
This course covers topics in the disciplines of History, Crime and Criminology, Women’s and Gender Studies.
Who should take this course?
All true crime aficionados and anyone interested in Jack the Ripper, Victorian England and criminology.
More about this course
Course number: FNDS 3402
Number of Credits: 4
Search UM-Dearborn Class Schedule to find out more.
Dearborn Discovery Core requirements met: Intersections
Meet your faculty member: Jamie Wraight, Lecturer IV in History; Director, The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive
One of the benefits of taking a Foundations course is gaining a faculty mentor that can support you throughout your college career. Get to know Jamie Wraight, faculty member for Modern Crime: Jack the Ripper.
Jamie L. Wraight has been at UM-Dearborn since 2000, serving as both curator and director of the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive. He also teaches courses in World History, the Holocaust and British History.
He has long been interested in the crimes of Jack the Ripper and the Victorian world they occurred in. He is VERY excited to have a chance to turn his interests in the case (and other serial killers) into a course focused exclusively on these topics.
Have questions about this course? Email Prof. Wraight at [email protected].