Crime and criminal justice systems are rapidly evolving in response to social, technological, and political change.

This module explores contemporary challenges such as domestic violence and abuse, drug policy, youth justice and financial crime. To ensure real world relevance for those pursuing careers in criminal justice, policymaking, advocacy and research, topics vary each year to reflect emerging issues and staff expertise.

You will develop a critical understanding of criminal justice in areas such as:

• How crime is measured and represented
• How justice policies are shaped
• Social factors and their impact on criminal justice

This module equips you with the analytical skills needed to navigate, influence and understand key challenges within complex criminal justice landscapes.

The module presents cutting-edge research to provide you with insights into the realities of criminological research in practice. You’ll learn the process of research, moving from inception of idea through to development of research proposals, then execution of fieldwork and finally dissemination of findings and contributions to development of theory and knowledge.

You will develop the critical, analytical, written and oral skills necessary to conceptualise and explain the process and challenges of designing and presenting social science and social policy research.

Lectures showcase individual research projects, highlighting methodological (including practical and ethical) difficulties and how they are overcome, and the relationship between the research process and expanding the body of knowledge within the field of criminology.

In this module you’ll critically explore key theoretical frameworks in criminology, focusing on the theory of knowledge and challenges to it. You’ll interrogate how knowledge about crime, justice and deviance is produced, legitimised and contested.

Through this module you’ll be asked to examine the foundations of criminological thought, and address questions such as:

• What do we know about crime and justice?
• Who's authorised to produce that knowledge?
• Whose perspective is marginalised or erased in the process?

Rather than approaching theory as a static body of work, you’ll approach it as a dynamic and evolving field, shaped by power relations, historical contexts and social struggles. In developing a sophisticated understanding of how ideas about crime and deviance are established and then questioned, you’ll be encouraged to examine the topics that matter most to you in new, nuanced and thought-provoking ways.

This is the culmination of your studies, as your dissertation provides an opportunity to apply what you have learnt in depth, focusing on a topic you are passionate about within the field of Criminology or Criminal Justice.

This independent project will be developed under the guidance of an expert supervisor and supported by a vibrant academic community. You will further develop your skills in the design and application of research, and in the use of critical analytical perspectives to complete either a sustained piece of applied research in the field or a library-based project.

You will explore the ethical implications of your project and engage with current debates and emerging fields of enquiry to produce a focused and analytical piece of work. Enjoy the challenge of working independently, researching rigorously, analysing critically and communicating clearly on a topic of importance to you.

This module provides an overview of the key theoretical debates and empirical issues that have developed with respect to the topic of violence within criminology. It facilitates research-led debate and discussion on prevention and response to violence in national and international realms and thinks critically about policy and practice in this area.

What is violence? How is it defined, and by whom? Should there be a hierarchy of what we consider violence, or is violence enacted as part of a continuum? You will engage with these complex questions in relation to the macro and meso, from state and corporate violence to the infliction and survival of interpersonal abuses.

Subjects covered may include:

• State violence
• Structural violence
• War crimes and crimes against humanity
• Torture
• Border related violence
• Gendered violence
• Interpersonal violence
• Zemiology (the study of social harm)

Ethnography is both a way to share real human experiences and a method for studying them, which makes it a powerful form of research.

In this module, you will explore how ethnography is used to understand the experiences of both criminal justice practitioners and those impacted by the justice system. These studies look at everyday life in areas like drug cultures, the sex trade, human smuggling networks, policing, prison life and more. The study of ethnography can help us see how justice and criminalisation can be similar or different across different countries and cultures.

You will critically examine questions such as:

• How do ethnographers understand and engage with the ethics and politics surrounding "criminality" or "criminal justice work"?
• How does ethnography make otherwise neglected or marginalised justice cultures and criminological contexts accessible and intelligible?
• What distinctive advantages and disadvantages does ethnography as method provide scholars of criminology?

During this module you will explore each international crime, deepening your understanding of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It will also focus on the role of international courts and tribunals, mixed and hybrid courts and tribunals and national courts.

You will be given stimulating examples of prosecution and punishment to engage with. These are informed by the convenor’s own cutting-edge research in transitional criminal justice and retrospective justice.

This module provides an overview of the rights protected by international instruments. This includes civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

You will be introduced to the regional and universal systems protecting and promoting human rights. The main focus will be on the UN human rights system, but regional systems will also be compared.

You will learn about the substance and procedure of human rights and engage with key debates in the development of rights and the obligations of non-state actors.

This module engages with history and contemporary developments in intersectional feminist thought. It focuses on feminist research and knowledge, highlighting the importance of cross-cultural work in Women’s and Gender Studies and the sensitivity to questions of difference and diversity.You will explore different approaches, including:

• Intersectional
• Transnational
• Interdisciplinary

You will engage with a diverse range of case studies and material to explore ways in which Women’s and Gender Studies has critically engaged with issues of equality and justice globally. You will participate in lively, critical debates about important contemporary issues, considering how theoretical perspectives can help to shed light on the world around us.