1 The Fictional Reality and Criminology: An Ontology of Theory and Exemplary Pedagogical Practice Jon Frauley * Forthcoming: Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 2010 (March), 21:3 Abstract A history of ideas model characterises the dominant pedagogical approach to criminological theory. This model, however, is hampered by implicit assumptions about the ontological status of theories and concepts. These ontological assumptions operate as epistemological obstacles to both: 1) the stimulating of what is argued to be a craft-practice in theoretical analysis and; 2) the reproducing of a broadly theoretically informed and reflexive criminology. This paper advances a craft-enterprise model for understanding theorising and the ontological status of sociological and criminological concepts. It exploits the space carved out by recent criminological interest in film and literature to explore how we might craft an exemplary pedagogical practice which utilises the fictional reality as a pedagogical tool. This model and practice are envisioned as contributions toward strengthening the social scientific and disciplinary status of both criminal justice studies and criminology. Key Words fictional reality, theorising, ontology, pedagogy, craft enterprise, history of ideas, realism * Jon Frauley is Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa (Canada). He is primarily interested in social theory, epistemology, governance and regulation. He has edited (with Frank Pearce) and contributed to, Critical Realism and the Social Sciences: Heterodox Elaborations (2007) and has published in a number of anthologies and journals including the British Journal of Criminology and Critical Criminology. He is currently working on a monograph, Criminology, Deviance, and the Silver Screen, for Palgrave Macmillan. Correspondence to: Jon Frauley, Dept. of Criminology, 25 University Street, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, K1N 6N5. Email: jfrauley@uottawa.ca.