A YORK academic whose latest course studies a cult American television show has compared the series with the work of Charles Dickens.

Final-year sociology students at the University of York can elect to study a module on critically-acclaimed series The Wire.

Professor Roger Burrows, head of sociology at the university, said students found it easier to relate to political and social issues through the show.

He said: “Lots of our students enjoyed the programme and would use examples from the series in class more often than examples from books we were reading, so I decided to try to harness some of that enthusiasm.

“Dickens served the same purpose, providing fictional but accurate examples of Victorian life, compared with examples from that time. I think The Wire has made the same kind of contribution.”

The Wire is a brutal drama set in Baltimore around drug users, dealers, police and politicians, and comments on the decline of industry, the education system and local newspapers. About 24 students have already signed up for the ten-week module, and watching all 60 one-hour episodes is a prerequisite for the course. Prof Burrows said: “We are going to take some of the themes from the programme and compare them with sociological examples such as urban poverty, and the decline of local newspaper and shipping industries. Lots of our students do not have any experience of that world, so it gives them an idea of what they are reading about.”

Professor Griselda Pollock, from Leeds University, spoke at a conference about the show in November, warning it was not a replacement for sociological study.

She said: “It’s an innovative idea to show sociology students that television can give them an insight, but we must also take into account that it’s not transparent, it’s constructed.

“We can’t just look at the TV programme and think by studying it we know what’s happening in Baltimore.”

Professor Burrows said the show was a “jumping-off point” to encourage discussion on the topics and issues being studied.