1st Day/1st Week in Women and Crime

     Photo Credit: Joel Muniz on Unsplash

As with all college courses, the first couple of weeks can and will always take time to settle into, not just the groove, but also into the who will stay and thus choose to be in it for the long haul of learning this fall semester. Yet amid the first day and the first week, there is even more at stake given that you may not have the actual class you will have through to the semester's end, but there are the unexpected who are there - shopping or maybe just taking in the vibe of a class/professor.  

Taking the chance at hand to open minds that very first day, we dove right in. I'll admit also that I had sent an email telling them to come ready on the first day and that rigor would start.

Little did they know that the rigor would be moving back in time that first day to "see" women and crime on screen. We went over the course syllabus, going around the room a bit on what brought them to their class and their vastly different interests in exploring crime in and over time with women/girls at the center.  The excitement was undeniably there and it only made my first day that much easier. 

Afterward, much to the surprise of many - because of how rare it is for some to keep a class the first day - I decided to switch it up, and that very first day during the second half we, as a class, screened the first half of an episode from Season 6 of the iconic show, Columbo.

Wait, Are You Columbo For Real?

My reasoning for screening this particular episode of "Try and Catch Me" continues to vary and evolve, but most of all I wanted students to move beyond the glitz of 21st-century films and see a moment in time when crime moved slower, detectives interacted with suspects, and other characters more personally, while the episode helped to highlight one of the most overlooked aspects of female criminality - age.  I wanted the students to see and consider that it is not just the how and why, but factors of both gender and age ever in operation, including on screen. Much to my delight, choosing this episode worked like a charm featuring the magnetic Ruth Gordon. All in all, I wanted students to see the cinematic generational influence for many through the images and riveting scenes that would no doubt linger amid their fall course learning but continue to emerge in class discussions. 

Even more befitting that week was telling them that she was 80 years old when she filmed that episode but also that the anniversary of her passing came that first week of classes so it was and became a tribute for the entire show, that episode, and the main characters and storyline, and particular scenes between the Ladies Club and the belly dancing class towards the end of "Try and Catch Me" Columbo episode. It was so fun to screen with a majority female class! 

Equally unique - outside of screening a 1970s episode on the first day for a class of college students in 2023 - was also how I screened this iconic TV episode. 

                Photo Credit: Frank Okay on Unsplash

We watched the first part in class, and through the platform, Tubi. 

Coming back the next day they had to finish the episode on their own, on Tubi, and come ready to discuss! This is my first time using and thus teaching with Tubi. While I love history some leave/expect academics to run and get physical DVDs for in-class screenings, but those days have long been gone for me and many more who teach with as digital access expands. I used to share my passwords as needed for a small class - back in the day before the password-sharing crackdown - and I did so to ensure that all of my students had access without barriers of any kind to deeper learning. 

I think my efforts of screening on the first day continue to pay off in a multitude of ways. 

C'mon, how could assigning pop culture not work in one's favor? Even more, going this route of bringing the iconic TV world of crime into the first set of conversations created an incredible foundation for the class while also helping to skyrocket engagement even more. ---- Maybe it was the split screening, in class and viewing on their own time, but perhaps it was my overall goal - seeing a woman, an older woman, and Ruth Gordon at that, so they could consider how far she could and would go, as featured and also as written into this type of episode aired on TV decades before in a popular crime show.

In short, it's funny to think that an "old" tv show from the 20th century facilitated an absolutely lively first week of class owing even more to the student's excitement and the equal digital access that everyone had to finish the assigned episode on their own. As well as the number of female-based scenes through "Try and Catch Me". 

The Future is Powerful Most With Remembrance

In future blog posts, you will hear invocation of the first day/weeks of the "Women & Crime" course learning. With a variance of angles and what is standing out in students' college learning in 2023 and from all places, a rare space to be learning about and fully centering the herstorical past as well as probing the evolution of a variance of female and herstorically "criminal" kind.

What are the generational differences in learning as well as how women/girls and crime are portrayed in pop culture?

I end by sharing that the first few sessions prompted students to actively consider not only what a good education is but also to reflect on: what have they been taught about women/girls in history/herstory, consider if/how have women/girls been centered or perhaps sidelined in history. While keeping even closer in mind, what can/will the future of learning and writing of many kinds look like with women and girls intentionally and thus actively remembered in and over time? 

So here's to the future of expansive remembrance for us all! Stay tuned for more!

Dr. Mustakeem