E X P L O R E
Whether you believe that human life began with a monkey or the molding of dust and a stolen rib, the concept of right and a wrong, good and evil, criminal and saint has always existed. Yet from our beginnings to now, America’s comprehension of crime and criminality has been a complex labyrinth, taking our past to both frighteningly dark and curiously enlightening times that fabricate our definition of the topic today.
At the entrance of the labyrinth, America’s understanding of crime was held by the deadly grip of religion and morals. Any person who dared to wiggle free faced severe and even deadly consequences. Examples of crimes being dictated by religion and morality and be seen in the following artifacts.
At the entrance of the labyrinth, America’s understanding of crime was held by the deadly grip of religion and morals. Any person who dared to wiggle free faced severe and even deadly consequences. Examples of crimes being dictated by religion and morality and be seen in the following artifacts.
The grip of religion begins to loosen with the introduction of “heroic” rule-breakers and saintly sinners, challenging the connection between sinning and criminal offense. Click the button below to read about Robin Hood or Hester Prynne and how their stories challenged this view.
Delving deeper into the labyrinth, the twists and turns become increasingly complex as we begin to examine how race and the bias held by groups and people in power affects how we perceive crime. Incidents such as the Mankato Executions and Nixon’s declaration of war on drugs show that those in power are the ones who shape the definition and rhetoric of crime.
This exhibit will illustrate the intricate puzzle of the different facets of crime and criminality of politics, religion, societal behaviors, and cultural differences that play into how crime is interpreted in society. Displaying crime from as early as the days of Robin Hood and the Salem Witch Trials to most recently, the 2016 election and the divisive race between Donald and Hillary, you will see the true complexity of the adaptations of crime and criminality.