CRMJ 208 Sociology of the Wire
The Wire is arguably the greatest television program ever made. Written by David Simon, a former Baltimore Sun journalist, and Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective turned public-school teacher, The Wire is a literary television series which unflatteringly eulogizes the city of Baltimore, Maryland and its sprawling web of bureaucracy that mystifies, demonizes, and ultimately ensnares its most vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens. An extremely diverse group of sociologists and philosophers including the likes of William Julius Wilson, Sudhir Venkatesh, Frederic Jameson, and Slavoj Zizek, have treated The Wire to a range of academic interpretations. Former President Barack Obama's favorite TV show is The Wire; his favorite character is the magnanimous robber-of-drug-dealers Omar Little. The Sociology of The Wire will focus on four key sociological themes that are prominently represented in the show including deindustrialization and the decline of the labor movement, urbanization and the postindustrial city, the failed policies of the War on Drugs and their impact on policing and low income and minority communities, and racial and economic disparities in the educational system. We will analyze these themes in the relevant sociological literature while simultaneously examining how they are unflinchingly captured in The Wire. Alongside the academic literature on these topics, we will also read excerpts from Homicide and The Corner, two books written by David Simon and Ed Burns that inspired the show.