Step 1: Find a Visual Example
Find a real-world image of graffiti that contains a clear crime-related social justice message (e.g., messages regarding police brutality, poverty, systemic racism, corporate greed, human rights, or environmental destruction).
Post the image (or a working link to it) in your thread.
Briefly describe the context or location of the graffiti if known.
Step 2: Social Science & Theoretical Analysis
Directly below your image, write a structured analysis (5–7 sentences) that connects the visual message to the social science theories we have studied. You must include the following:
1. Link to Theory (With Page Number): Connect the message in the graffiti to one specific theory of crime from Chapters 5 through 10, or read ahead to Chapter 14 if you want to link it specifically to political crime (which can include corporate state crimes or environmental/global warming activism). You must cite the specific page number from the Barkan textbook where this theory is defined.
2. Explain the Call to Action: Based strictly on the framework of your chosen theory, explain why this specific piece of graffiti is a compelling call to action. What structural or psychological failure is the artist highlighting?
EXAMPLE: 15 Heartbreaking Graffiti On World Issues And Social Justice
Theory: Institutional Anomie Theory (Messner & Rosenfeld; textbook page 140).
Analysis: This graffiti highlights how our cultural obsession with economic success at all costs has broken down traditional institutional controls. Institutional Anomie Theory suggests that instead of simply treating a symptoms like homelessness with temporary handouts, society must fix the structural problem of poverty. The visual message serves as a compelling call to action because it demands we overhaul our societal institutions—ensuring all individuals have access to supportive family, stable employment, quality education, and equitable political experiences that foster a meaningful, crime-free life.
NOTE: If you want to link your graffiti to political crime, read ahead to chapter 14. Political crime can include global warning.
This two-step assignment asks you to find a real image of socially conscious graffiti and write a 5–7 sentence analysis linking its message to a specific crime theory (with page number), weighing graffiti as property crime versus social-justice expression. Be specific and cite the theory precisely.
Key takeaways
- Choose graffiti with a clear crime-related social-justice message.
- Link it to one specific theory of crime — with the page number.
- Weigh the tension: property crime vs. protected/justified expression.
- Keep the analysis tight (5–7 sentences) but theory-grounded.
- Describe the image’s context.
Step 1: Choose and describe the image
Find real graffiti with a clear social-justice message (police brutality, systemic racism, poverty, environmental harm). Post the image or a working link and briefly describe its context and location.
Step 2: Theoretical analysis
In 5–7 sentences, connect the message to one specific crime theory, citing the page number from your text. Options: strain theory (blocked goals breeding protest), conflict theory (the powerless challenging the powerful), labeling theory (who gets to define ‘crime’), or social disorganization.
Address the core tension
Weigh graffiti as property crime (unauthorized, illegal) against its role as social-justice expression. Note that conflict theory in particular reframes who defines the act as criminal. Take a reasoned position.
Format
Keep it tight, cite the theory with its page number, and write clearly.