Crime and the Imaginary of Disaster: Post-apocalyptic fictions and the crisis of social order

Visions of the apocalyptic breakdown of society are commonplace in contemporary culture, and are rife with images of crime, violence, disorder, vengeance and justice. Taking post-apocalyptic fictions as its focus, this book explores the 'imaginary of disaster' that is so readily apparent in popular culture. It argues that such representations offer important insights into the social and political fears, anxieties, conflicts and fantasies that coalesce around the issues of crime, law and punishment.

Taking an innovative approach to the study of crime fictions - and drawing upon a range of inter-disciplinary scholarship spanning criminology, sociology, politics, theology, religion, history and film studies – the author offers a fresh look at just what our popular enthusiasm for stories of disaster can tell us about ourselves, and about our relationships to a rapidly-changing and seemingly chaotic social world.