We often take it for granted that one job of the state is to catch and punish murderers, thieves, and fraudsters. But we shouldn’t take this for granted. Criminal punishment is one of the worse things the state is allowed to do to us, as it intentionally creates suffering and deprives people of their liberty. What, if anything, can justify such a practice? Many different justifications have been offered by philosophers and legal theorists. Some claim punishment justified because of its consequences, some on the grounds that criminals should get their just deserts. Others have claimed punishment is justified because of the message it communicates to the criminal or to wider society. Do any of these justifications work, or should the practice be abolished? And if the practice of criminal punishment is justified, what are the principles that determine who should get punished, and for what? Should we only punish those who cause harm, or is it justified to also punish those who merely attempt or conspire to commit crimes? Should we only punish people who harm others deliberately, or is it also legitimate to punish those who do so unawares? This module will look at questions like these, drawing on a combination of both philosophy and criminal law theory.
This course will span the period c.1688-c.1840, beginning with the reforms of the criminal code introduced following the Glorious Revolution, known as the ‘Bloody Code’, and concluding in the mid-nineteenth century with the introduction of the police force under Peel and the first acts removing capital punishment from felonies. You will be asked to consider both the nature and incidence of crime and whether historians’ research confirms contemporary perceptions of the lawlessness of society. You will be asked to address whether a poor man’s [and woman’s] system of justice operated in the eighteenth century or whether the criminal law solely acted as the ‘ideology’ of the ruling classes. You will be introduced to a wide range of sources for examining the history of crime and punishment, both qualitative and quantitative. A variety of legal material will be drawn upon; indictment and deposition records from Quarter Sessions, Assize Circuits, the Kings Bench and the very rich Old Bailey Sessions Papers and Newgate Calendar. Alongside this the writings of contemporaries such as Defoe, Fielding, Smollett will be considered. Criminal biographies, judges’ notebooks, newspapers, canting dictionaries and satirical images also provide interesting and informative sources.
This course will span the period c.1688-c.1840, beginning with the reforms of the criminal code introduced following the Glorious Revolution, known as the ‘Bloody Code’, and concluding in the mid-nineteenth century with the introduction of the police force under Peel and the first acts removing capital punishment from felonies. You will be asked to consider why the legal system moved away from capital punishment towards firstly the transportation and ultimately the imprisonment of felons and what led to the establishment of the police force. You will be introduced to a wide range of sources for examining the history of crime and punishment, both qualitative and quantitative. In looking at punishment, the ideas of Beccaria, Howard and Bentham will be examined in addition to prison and Home Office records. The material of Colquhoun and Peel form the basis of a consideration of early policing. A final component of the course will be to address modern representations of the history of crime and punishment through the watching of films and documentaries (ranging from Dick Turpin to Blackadder) to examine and deconstruct some of the myths that have grown up around the period and subject.
This module examines crime and criminal law in its broader cultural and historical context. It focuses on the strategies and techniques that lawyers, judges and commentators use to persuade others to their viewpoint, and that give us the fascinating stories, characters and ideas that make up criminal law. We look at the way that these stories and characters have been derived from outside of law: from fiction, drama and art, and which have in turn guided the development of our laws and key legal judgments. The module involves discussion of certain offences, e.g. murder, manslaughter, piracy, rape, as well as important broader issues, e.g. criminal justice as a spectacle (what does modern justice owe to visual art and theatrical performance?); 'hot' and 'cold'- blooded killing (what is the moral and legal distinction?); justice and revenge (what's the difference?); the role of metaphors such as the 'scales of justice' (what does criminal justice owe to ancient practices of trade and commerce?).
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Crime detection is prolific on television; a topic discussed across news and current affairs programming, documentaries, reality TV and, not the least, numerous crime dramas. This module examines different type of crime investigation narratives on television, providing you with tools for analysing the dynamic and contested cultural roles of crime TV. We will engage with diverse theoretical approaches to the relationship between crime detection and television, enabling your active participation in both popular and academic debates on this topic. In order to unpick the diverse cultural meanings that saturate and circulate different programmes, we will study their wider socio-historical contexts as well as cultural reception. Doing so, we pay particular attention to the specific aesthetic forms, narrative structures, figures, settings and themes that characterises televisual portrayals of different crime investigation practices, but we also consider genre linkages to literature, radio, cinema, and digital culture. Approaching the study of crime TV from the unique perspectives of film and television studies, this module will also highlight television’s contributions to the wider discursive construction of moving-image creation as a key technology of detection in modern culture.
What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? What is the appropriate role of the police? How have efforts to rehabilitate offenders changed over recent decades? How are political priorities re-shaping criminal justice? These are some of the questions that are central to 'Criminal Justice'. This module explores the policy and practice of key criminal justice institutions, including the police, probation and prisons. It will consider the duties and activities of these institutions, and the challenges that they face in an era of rapid change. The module will do so in light of key theoretical debates regarding the purpose and nature of criminal justice. In summary, this module will enable students to explore the roles and historical trajectory of key criminal justice institutions and to critically analyse their appropriate future direction. Teaching is informed by relevant academic staff's published and ongoing research.
This module provides an introduction to the substantive criminal law, and to fundamental aspects of criminal law in its broader criminal justice and societal context. It will examine the use of criminal law, and its associated processes, as a mode of governing individual and social conduct. It will provide: a critical introduction to principles and practices of criminalisation; a critical introduction to the doctrinal 'building blocks' of criminal liability and responsibility, and the opportunity to apply these "building block" principles, as well as the contextual material, to selected case studies. It also focuses on providing a foundation in the key LLB Programme and QA Law Benchmark skills learning outcomes of: 'developing an ability to produce a synthesis of relevant doctrinal and policy issues, presentation of a reasoned choice between alternative solutions and critical judgement of the merits of particular arguments.'; and 'developing the ability to apply knowledge and understanding to offer evidenced conclusions, addressing complex actual or hypothetical problems.'
This version of Criminal Law is delivered for you if you are studying the LLB JD Pathway, the LLB Accelerated programme or the LLB Law with Psychology programme. This module provides an introduction to the substantive criminal law, and to fundamental aspects of criminal law in its broader criminal justice and societal context. It will examine the use of criminal law, and its associated processes, as a mode of governing individual and social conduct. It will provide: a critical introduction to principles and practices of criminalization; a critical introduction to the doctrinal building blocks of criminal liability and responsibility, and the opportunity to apply these building block principles, as well as the contextual material, to selected case studies. It also focuses on providing a foundation in the key LLB Programme and QA Law Benchmark skills learning outcomes of: developing an ability to produce a synthesis of relevant doctrinal and policy issues, presentation of a reasoned choice between alternative solutions and critical judgement of the merits of particular arguments.; and developing the ability to apply knowledge and understanding to offer evidenced conclusions, addressing complex actual or hypothetical problems.
This module provides you with a critical overview of criminological theory since 1980. It builds on and extends the foundational curriculum which introduced students to the field of criminology.
This module encourages you to take an in-depth look at the way psychology has been used to explain and control crime. We will explore the way psychological principles can be applied to such issues as violence, murder, serial killing and the role of the courts. You will be given the change to critically reflect on both the topics covered and your developing understanding of the subject through lectures and seminar activities.
This module will introduce students to the analysis of some of the concrete political challenges facing the world in the early 21st century. Drawing on political science, political theory and international relations (as well as wider disciplines), it takes up a problem-based approach designed to explore the causes of the problem (diagnosis), the dangers that it poses (prognosis), and the ways in which it may be addressed (prescription). It is aimed at both helping students to understanding the complexity of addressing these problems but also the possibilities for doing so.
This module is for experienced teachers only (at least 2 years + teaching practice) as it draws extensively on students’ theoretical and practical knowledge of language teaching methodologies in specific national and institutional contexts with particular learner groups. The aim of this module is to give a detailed overview of different methods and approaches to language teaching, along with their theoretical underpinnings regarding language, learning, and pedagogy. We investigate a range of contemporary approaches to curriculum and syllabus design and their implications for language classrooms. Students will be familiarised with different ways to evaluate course-books and to design teaching material appropriate to specific learner groups and contexts.
The development of absolute dating methods has had the most profound effect on our understanding of the past. All self-respecting archaeologists should have a basic grounding in radiocarbon dating, but many other dating techniques exist and are appropriate for particular archaeological materials. As well as covering radiocarbon dating, the module covers most of the dating methods of relevance to archaeology from dendrochronology of historical wood back to K/Ar dating of early hominines. The scientific basis of each technique will be covered, but the main focus will be on the application of the dating methods to archaeology through examination of case studies. In particular we will look at how, why and when the scientists have got it wrong, and what archaeologists need to know to spot a dodgy date.
This core module provides students with an opportunity to engage with a variety of methodologies and themes at MA level, including those they may be less familiar with, such as oral history and the history of memory, and cultural history and the history of emotions. Focussing particularly on areas of study which have seen recent growth and innovation, such as gender history and masculinity, this module also considers how historians can draw upon and interact with methodologies and theories from other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and political science. Sessions will involve studying themes over broad time periods, offering students the opportunity to focus on more conceptual historical approaches.
This module provides a comprehensive overview of current issues and challenges in global health. Using relevant case studies, it will discuss trends and determinants of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as assessing possible effective responses to key transnational health challenges. As part of this process we will analyse the complex relationship between global health, poverty and human development within the framework of the post-2015 Sustainable Development health-related goals.
This module will introduce you to resonant examples of critical media practices, enabling you to combine in critical ways the theory and practice of digital media. Through practice workshops with staff and invited practitioners, exploring key examples from digital, alternative and experimental media, you will be encouraged to produce work that is analytical and critical. You will learn to understand the creative practices, technical skills and conceptual frameworks required to produce critical media projects in different media (ranging from video and photography to web and digital environment), combined with awareness of how contemporary media production, participation and consumption are shaped by their historical, technological and everyday contexts.
This module explores and critically analyses diverse and sometimes opposing perspectives on organising and managing a range of organisations, including but not limited to MNCs, SMEs and local organisations. The module exposes learners to critical analyses of key topics including leadership, culture, organisational change, power, identities, technology and the global context of organisation. The application of these concepts to organisational and management practices will be examined through various case studies.
This module is based on a selection of recent and innovative scholarly writings on music, which challenge the reader to examine their assumptions about the nature of both scholarship and music as cultural practices.
Through a series of lectures delivered by staff from across the department, and invited guests, this module introduces students to some of the key areas of contemporary theoretical discourse that influence cultural and creative practice. This module aims to broaden the students’ theoretical horizons and inform their artistic practices. The module is intentionally designed to bridge the historical art theory emphasis of much undergraduate education and the higher theoretical demands now placed on artists pursuing doctoral research. For assessment, students are required to propose, research and write a short essay on a theoretical area of their choice, that relates to their studio practice. The module thereby provides an opportunity to locate themselves within this theoretical discourse, and to begin to articulate their own critical voice in relation to major contemporary arguments in critical theory. This academic writing task is important in preparing students both for further study at doctoral level and for the proposal writing aspects of professional practice beyond the institution.
This module has two elements. First, students are introduced to the key concepts of critical thinking needed to analyse, evaluate and compare arguments and develop different points of view. Secondly students are taught how to research a topic using the resources available at the university. The students use all these skills in the second semester to carry out a research project on a topic related to their chosen undergraduate degree subject.
