Serials: The contested and contextual meanings of seriality.

• Author / Creator

  Larocque, Rachelle MJ

• Systems of classifications are socially created and historically contingent. New classifications lead to the creation of new categories, new objects and new kinds of people. Over the last thirty years, some of the most successful categories have emerged from the study of seriality. This thesis examines the emergence of three categories of seriality, including serial murder, serial monogamy and serial arson through a genealogical analysis. This thesis argues that seriality is a complex category that involves a host of important attributes, traits, characteristics, social, legal and medical categories, institutions, expertise and knowledge. Combined, these factors shape our understandings and highlight the complexity of seriality by considering important aspects that are too often taken for granted. The focus on three diverse groups of seriality highlights the interdisciplinary nature of seriality and its growing dominance among both public and private discourse.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Murder
  • Genealogy
  • Classification
  • Seriality
  • Hacking
  • Monogamy
  • Arson

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3VC8F

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.