Using Murder

First published in 1994, this book investigates the social construction of serial homicide and assesses the concern that popular fears and stereotypes have exaggerated: the actual scale of multiple homcide. Jenkins has produced an innovative synthesis of approaches to social problem construction that includes an historical and social-scientific estimate of the objective scale of serial murder; a rhetorical analysis of the contruction of the phenomenom in public debate; a cultural studies-oriented analysis of the portrayal of serial murder in contemorary media.Chapters include: "e;The Construction of Problems and Panic,"e; which covers areas such as comprehending murder, dangerous outsiders, and the rhetoric of perscution; "e;The Reality of Serial Murder,"e; which discusses statistics, stereotype examination, and media patterns;"e;Popular Culture: Images of the Serial Killer"e;; "e;The Racial Dimension: Serial Murder as Bias Crime"e;; and "e;Darker than We Imagine"e;; "e;Cults and Conspiracies."e;