I would like to share with you all today my experiences and thoughts on this Prison Voices journey!
The topic of Crime and Punishment has always been a peak interest of mine, so having the opportunity to study the Prison Voices in my university has been really exciting as well as adventurous.
At the beginning of the module and being informed as part of it I had to create a blog, obviously I was apprehensive as I’ve never done such a thing before. But gaining the skill and being able to talk in the first person persona has really made it enjoyable and even made me consider wanting to start my own.
The idea of being a collaborative researcher and being exposed to using digital archives and resources has been interesting in the sense that I was able to discover information about such Crime and Punishment topics I never would have thought I’d be able to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed using the Old Bailey online resource during my research for the Criminal Broadsides blog and the On Trial blog, where I was able to search many trials existing between the 18th and 19th century.
I have gained various skills during this module, with the significant ones being able to create and manage my own blog site. I ensured I took full advantage of this and shared my blog site on social media such as Twitter, and shared links with my friends so they were able to access it and tell me what they thought!
From planning and creating a blog, I think one of the most significant factors to ensure you do is remind yourself you are talking to audience, and not necessarily to yourself. I have enjoyed being able to feel like I am part of a inclusive discussion whilst sharing information about each topic. It has definitely allowed me to gain a skill with regards to different styles of writing.
Overall, the module has been very interesting and also allowed me to approach my assignments in a different context/form, e.g writing blogs rather than an essay. I gained valuable skills completing this assignment which I’m sure I’ll be able to use in the future.
Narratives of Crime and Punishment 