Cultural Criminology of Classical Music

• In Event: Crime and Music

Abstract

Introducing art and music in criminology brings with it not only an exercise in interdisciplinary research, but also an opportunity both to learn new analytical tools and techniques and to discover new research fields, meanings and emotions. However, this, at first sight so obvious cultural approach raises new questions and dilemmas. What exactly can we learn from other disciplines when it comes to the causes and consequences of crime, the motives of perpetrators, social control and other criminological issues? Criminological imagination can stimulate, but also can have an impact on political and cultural discussions about crime and punishment. But is there perhaps a risk that criminologists as reliable and responsible researchers, who identify and analyze social problems, could become 'creators' of new problems and dangers?
This presentation will deal with the questions about the added value and status of fiction and imagination in cultural criminological research and the boundary between empirical data, based on observation and participation, and the fabricated data through art and music. Based on my research on classical music, I will specifically ask whether music can provide empirical data and illustrative cases, which can be used in criminology.

Author

• Dina Siegel, Utrecht University