David Schmid – författare

Jeffrey Dahmer. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Over the past thirty years, serial killers have become iconic figures in America, the subject of made-for-TV movies and mass-market paperbacks alike. But why do we find such luridly transgressive and horrific individuals so fascinating? What compels us to look more closely at these figures when we really want to look away? Natural Born Celebrities considers how serial killers have become lionized in American culture and explores the consequences of their fame.David Schmid provides a historical account of how serial killers became famous and how that fame has been used in popular media and the corridors of the FBI alike. Ranging from H. H. Holmes, whose killing spree during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair inspired The Devil in the White City, right up to Aileen Wuornos, the lesbian prostitute whose vicious murder of seven men would serve as the basis for the hit film Monster, Schmid unveils a new understanding of serial killers by emphasizing both the social dimensions of their crimes and their susceptibility to multiple interpretations and uses. He also explores why serial killers have become endemic in popular culture, from their depiction in The Silence of the Lambs and The X-Files to their becoming the stuff of trading cards and even Web sites where you can buy their hair and nail clippings.Bringing his fascinating history right up to the present, Schmid ultimately argues that America needs the perversely familiar figure of the serial killer now more than ever to manage the fear posed by Osama bin Laden since September 11. "This is a persuasively argued, meticulously researched, and compelling examination of the media phenomenon of the 'celebrity criminal' in American culture. It is highly readable as well."—Joyce Carol Oates

Jeffrey Dahmer. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Over the past thirty years, serial killers have become iconic figures in America, the subject of made-for-TV movies and mass-market paperbacks alike. But why do we find such luridly transgressive and horrific individuals so fascinating? What compels us to look more closely at these figures when we really want to look away? Natural Born Celebrities considers how serial killers have become lionized in American culture and explores the consequences of their fame. David Schmid provides a historical account of how serial killers became famous and how that fame has been used in popular media and the corridors of the FBI alike. Ranging from H. H. Holmes, whose killing spree during the 1893 Chicago World''s Fair inspired The Devil in the White City, right up to Aileen Wuornos, the lesbian prostitute whose vicious murder of seven men would serve as the basis for the hit film Monster, Schmid unveils a new understanding of serial killers by emphasizing both the social dimensions of their crimes and their susceptibility to multiple interpretations and uses. He also explores why serial killers have become endemic in popular culture, from their depiction in The Silence of the Lambs and The X-Files to their becoming the stuff of trading cards and even Web sites where you can buy their hair and nail clippings. Bringing his fascinating history right up to the present, Schmid ultimately argues that America needs the perversely familiar figure of the serial killer now more than ever to manage the fear posed by Osama bin Laden since September 11. "This is a persuasively argued, meticulously researched, and compelling examination of the media phenomenon of the ''celebrity criminal'' in American culture. It is highly readable as well."—Joyce Carol Oates

Why has crime fiction become a global genre? How do writers use crime fiction to reflect upon the changing nature of crime and policing in our contemporary world? This book argues that the globalization of crime fiction should not be celebrated uncritically. Instead, it looks at the new forms and techniques writers are using to examine the crimes and policing practices that define a rapidly changing world. In doing so, this collection of essays examines how the relationship between global crime, capitalism, and policing produces new configurations of violence in crime fiction – and asks whether the genre can find ways of analyzing and even opposing such violence as part of its necessarily limited search for justice both within and beyond the state.

Why has crime fiction become a global genre? How do writers use crime fiction to reflect upon the changing nature of crime and policing in our contemporary world? This book argues that the globalization of crime fiction should not be celebrated uncritically. Instead, it looks at the new forms and techniques writers are using to examine the crimes and policing practices that define a rapidly changing world. In doing so, this collection of essays examines how the relationship between global crime, capitalism, and policing produces new configurations of violence in crime fiction – and asks whether the genre can find ways of analyzing and even opposing such violence as part of its necessarily limited search for justice both within and beyond the state.

Zombie Talk offers a concise, interdisciplinary introduction and deep analytical set of theoretical approaches to help readers understand the phenomenon of zombies in contemporary and modern culture. With essays that combine Humanities and Social Science methodologies, the authors examine the zombie through an array of cultural products from different periods and geographical locations: films ranging from White Zombie (1932) to the pioneering films of George Romero, television shows like AMC''s The Walking Dead, to literary offerings such as Richard Matheson''s I am Legend (1954) and Seth Grahame-Smith''s Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (2009), among others.

Zombie Talk offers a concise, interdisciplinary introduction and deep analytical set of theoretical approaches to help readers understand the phenomenon of zombies in contemporary and modern culture. With essays that combine Humanities and Social Science methodologies, the authors examine the zombie through an array of cultural products from different periods and geographical locations: films ranging from White Zombie (1932) to the pioneering films of George Romero, television shows like AMC's The Walking Dead, to literary offerings such as Richard Matheson's I am Legend (1954) and Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (2009), among others.

This timely collection provides a historical overview of violence in American popular culture from the Puritan era to the present and across a range of media.Few topics are discussed more broadly today than violence in American popular culture. Unfortunately, such discussion is often unsupported by fact and lacking in historical context. This two-volume work aims to remedy that through a series of concise, detailed essays that explore why violence has always been a fundamental part of American popular culture, the ways in which it has appeared, and how the nature and expression of interest in it have changed over time. Each volume of the collection is organized chronologically. The first focuses on violent events and phenomena in American history that have been treated across a range of popular cultural media. Topics include Native American genocide, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and gender violence. The second volume explores the treatment of violence in popular culture as it relates to specific genres—for example, Puritan "execution sermons," dime novels, television, film, and video games. An afterword looks at the forces that influence how violence is presented, discusses what violence in pop culture tells us about American culture as a whole, and speculates about the future.

The first anthology of its kind, A Crime Fiction Reader: Craft and Criticism brings together classic and contemporary writings on a genre that is more popular now than it has ever been. It is comprehensive in multiple ways: historically, theoretically, and in terms of its coverage of key authors and traditions within the genre. The first section, "Defining the Genre," brings together critical statements about the genre of crime fiction from some of its central practitioners as well some of the most famous early attempts to regulate, critique, or defend the genre. The essays in this section are designed to give students the ability to reconstruct both the history of early debates about the value of crime fiction and the formal and thematic characteristics of the genre that constituted the focus of such debates. The second and third sections, "Key Authors" and "Traditions in Crime Fiction," collect a sample of the most influential critical work about some of the leading writers, traditions and subgenres of crime fiction. Crime fiction has long been known for attracting critical attention from writers with an enormously wide range of theoretical concerns and affiliations.The fourth and final section, "Theoretical Approaches," reflects that history and diversity by including samples of critical work from multiple viewpoints, including feminist, Marxist, formalist, post-colonial, and psychoanalytic. This section renders A Crime Fiction Reader suitable not only for classes in crime fiction per se, but also for classes on critical and literary theory that use crime fiction texts to introduce students to a wide range of theoretical issues and positions.

The first anthology of its kind, A Crime Fiction Reader: Craft and Criticism brings together classic and contemporary writings on a genre that is more popular now than it has ever been. It is comprehensive in multiple ways: historically, theoretically, and in terms of its coverage of key authors and traditions within the genre. The first section, "Defining the Genre," brings together critical statements about the genre of crime fiction from some of its central practitioners as well some of the most famous early attempts to regulate, critique, or defend the genre. The essays in this section are designed to give students the ability to reconstruct both the history of early debates about the value of crime fiction and the formal and thematic characteristics of the genre that constituted the focus of such debates. The second and third sections, "Key Authors" and "Traditions in Crime Fiction," collect a sample of the most influential critical work about some of the leading writers, traditions and subgenres of crime fiction. Crime fiction has long been known for attracting critical attention from writers with an enormously wide range of theoretical concerns and affiliations.The fourth and final section, "Theoretical Approaches," reflects that history and diversity by including samples of critical work from multiple viewpoints, including feminist, Marxist, formalist, post-colonial, and psychoanalytic. This section renders A Crime Fiction Reader suitable not only for classes in crime fiction per se, but also for classes on critical and literary theory that use crime fiction texts to introduce students to a wide range of theoretical issues and positions.

Nahezu unbeachtet von der Öffentlichkeit beherrschen wenige Mediaagenturen den Markt für die Platzierung von Werbung jeder Art. Da Unternehmen in der heutigen Zeit aufgrund der Vielzahl von Werbemöglichkeiten die Werbung für ihre Produkte nicht mehr selbst zielführend platzieren können, sind sie auf die Dienste der Mediaagenturen angewiesen. Jedoch sind die Kunden nicht bereit für diese Tätigkeit zu bezahlen, da sie um eine anderweitige Vergütung der Mediaagentur etwa in Form von besonderen Einkaufskonditionen wissen.Das Buch setzt an dem sich daraus ergebenden Spannungsverhältnis an und behandelt die Strafbarkeit der Mediaagentur als Beauftragte im Sinne von § 299 Abs. 1 StGB. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die Stellung der Mediaagentur als Beauftragte ihrer Kunden. Diese wird anhand einer umfassenden Erörterung der tatsächlichen Stellung der Mediaagentur erarbeitet. Darüber hinaus werden auch die restlichen Tatbestandsmerkmale des § 299 Abs. 1 StGB sowie eine mögliche Betrugs- und Untreuestrafbarkeit der Mediaagentur beleuchtet. Abschließend wird eine Möglichkeit zur straffreien Interessenerreichung für alle Beteiligten skizziert.Die Ansätze und Ergebnisse der Arbeit lassen sich auf ähnliche Agentur- bzw. sonstige Dreipersonen-konstellationen übertragen. Im Zusammenhang mit der Frage nach der Strafbarkeit der Kassenärzte hat sich erst in jüngster Vergangenheit erneut die Relevanz der Grenzen der Strafbarkeit gemäß § 299 StGB gezeigt. Die Mediaagenturkonstellation ist nur eine von vielen Agentur- bzw. sonstigen Dreipersonenkonstellationen, die in Zukunft den BGH und auch die Öffentlichkeit beschäftigen werden.

Nahezu unbeachtet von der Öffentlichkeit beherrschen wenige Mediaagenturen den Markt für die Platzierung von Werbung jeder Art. Da Unternehmen in der heutigen Zeit aufgrund der Vielzahl von Werbemöglichkeiten die Werbung für ihre Produkte nicht mehr selbst zielführend platzieren können, sind sie auf die Dienste der Mediaagenturen angewiesen. Jedoch sind die Kunden nicht bereit für diese Tätigkeit zu bezahlen, da sie um eine anderweitige Vergütung der Mediaagentur etwa in Form von besonderen Einkaufskonditionen wissen.Das Buch setzt an dem sich daraus ergebenden Spannungsverhältnis an und behandelt die Strafbarkeit der Mediaagentur als Beauftragte im Sinne von § 299 Abs. 1 StGB. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die Stellung der Mediaagentur als Beauftragte ihrer Kunden. Diese wird anhand einer umfassenden Erörterung der tatsächlichen Stellung der Mediaagentur erarbeitet. Darüber hinaus werden auch die restlichen Tatbestandsmerkmale des § 299 Abs. 1 StGB sowie eine mögliche Betrugs- und Untreuestrafbarkeit der Mediaagentur beleuchtet. Abschließend wird eine Möglichkeit zur straffreien Interessenerreichung für alle Beteiligten skizziert.Die Ansätze und Ergebnisse der Arbeit lassen sich auf ähnliche Agentur- bzw. sonstige Dreipersonen-konstellationen übertragen. Im Zusammenhang mit der Frage nach der Strafbarkeit der Kassenärzte hat sich erst in jüngster Vergangenheit erneut die Relevanz der Grenzen der Strafbarkeit gemäß § 299 StGB gezeigt. Die Mediaagenturkonstellation ist nur eine von vielen Agentur- bzw. sonstigen Dreipersonenkonstellationen, die in Zukunft den BGH und auch die Öffentlichkeit beschäftigen werden.

Wie kann man sich in Bern verlaufen? Die Geschichten im Bernbuch zeigen, wie es geht: Sie führen auf hohe Brücken, zu Aussichtspunkten und zu den Bären im Gehege an der Aare. Auf Abwegen geht es zu historischen Pissoirs im Weltkulturerbe und in die Schokoladenfabrik, die zum Universitätsgebäude wurde - vorbei an Renaissancefassaden, die gelegentlich auch mit Farbbeuteln beworfen werden.Bern die Bundesstadt, die de facto Hauptstadt der Schweiz, wird auf Robert Walsers Spuren erkundet, durchstreift und durchschwommen - so entsteht das Panorama einer Stadt, die immer auf die Alpen schaut.