Week #2

4/21/21

So far this week I’ve been doing research on profiling methods and a lot of background work on serial murders to prepare to start studying one of the cases I plan to study in depth. I originally planned to start studying the Zodiac killer case but I decided to start with the Unabomber case instead because the case has been solved and the book on the case, written by lead profiler James Fitzgerald, just arrived today. Something interesting that I just read this week was about school violence. When I think about mass murder and psychological profiling, I tend to think about other outside incidents, not school violence. This issue is important to study, especially today, and important to study different aspects (the “why”, preventative measures, signs to look for, etc.).

I started to realize that my third essential question, “what are the dangers of psychological profiling” may be too narrow. When I first thought of this question, I had in mind a case in which a profiler created an inaccurate profile and an innocent man was sent to jail. I wanted to explore to see if there were any other negatives such as this about profiling. I think instead I want to encapture and think about why profiling is so important and why it’s necessary. To reiterate this idea, I am thinking about controversy and arguments about psychological profiling about its effectiveness, and its need. I hope to reword my essential question this week.

My plan for the rest of the week is to start learning about the Unabomber case. I first want to study the details about the crime and then hopefully use what I know so far to create my own profile. I also plan then to study Fitzgerald’s, the lead profiler on the case, profile, and what led to the arrest.

 

4/26/21

 

This week, I mostly prepared on getting ready to start studying the Unabomber case. I also started to reflect upon what I want to do for my final project/piece. I was thinking about either creating my own website with information about profiling so that people also interested in crime can learn more. My other idea is to start a podcast and talked about the basics of what I’ve learned and did. I was inspired by all of the crime podcasts that I’ve been listening to because of how interesting and easy to engage with.