Criminology and Criminal Justice MA

Justice is the nominal goal of the cluster of institutions we call the ‘criminal justice system’, and these institutions often equate the delivery of justice with the delivery of punishment. Many criminologists and legal theorists, however, maintain that this system fails to do what it claims to, and it is becoming increasingly common to term it the ‘criminal legal system’. This module asks the question ‘Can the institutional structures we call the criminal justice system deliver the form of justice we ask them to, and are there alternative models of justice or organisational structures which we could turn to instead?’ The module is delivered in two sections. Section one asks ‘Is there justice in criminal justice’, and explores how the attempt to pursue justice flows through, and the barriers to justice which exist within, institutions and processes such as the police, sentencing, prisons, and parole. Section Two explores justice models and structures that exist outside the traditional penal state. The precise topics covered will vary with teaching availability but may include topics such as ecojustice, military justice, transitional justice, and victims’ justice.

This module provides students with an introduction to the politics and practice of social research. It does so by exploring the following aspects of the research process: the context of the modern university; the role of the social scientist; power, critique and reflexivity in the social sciences; the constraints, benefits and limitations of social science. Those are explored in relation to practical dilemmas and cases studies in social science research. During the course of examining these issues research methods such as interviewing, focus groups, observation, and key issues such as ethical research and researching sensitive subjects are covered.

The things that criminologists study, the ways in which they study them and the reasons why they do so are many and varied. The forms of knowledge they produce, and the practical uses to which they are applied, are correspondingly diverse and contested. The purpose of this core module is to enable students to understand criminology as a permanently contested collection of historically and geographically varied ways of knowing and reasons for seeking to know about ‘crime’, which is inevitably shaped by broader social, cultural, economic and political conditions, societal norms and values, and which intersects in various significant ways with extant social divisions and inequalities. The module will do this by engaging students with a range of commentaries on and debates about the nature, purpose, strengths and limitations of criminological thinking and then supporting them to apply their understanding of these debates to critically appraise specific case studies of contemporary criminological research. On this module students will develop an advanced understanding of the historical, political and cultural contexts within which key strands of criminological thought and criminal justice have emerged and have developed, the relevance of social and economic divisions, social diversity, and inequalities of wealth and power to understanding criminology and criminal justice studies, and alternatives to mainstream criminological thinking and their associated intellectual, theoretical, and political projects.

This module focuses on one of the central problems in contemporary society, the threat of terrorism. It provides valuable insights into the factors that can lead to extremism, the common features that occur when individuals are radicalised and the primary motivations and issues that drive individuals to commit terrorist attacks. Addressing specific cases in various international contexts, the module evaluates the nature, construction, regulation and impacts of terrorism in the modern world. In addition to advancing evaluative and analytical skills, the module is designed to appeal to postgraduates and practitioners wishing to acquire advanced knowledge about the current threat landscape and the aspirations of terrorist groups. Via consideration of cutting-edge research in critical studies of terrorism conducted across different global contexts, the efficacy of preventative interventions and policy focussed solutions will be analysed and examples of good practice will be identified.

Despite considerable progress toward structural and institutional gender equality in many parts of the world, gender-based violence remains one of the most notable and persistent forms of human rights violations globally. In this module, students will explore the nature and impact of different forms of gender-based violence (e.g., domestic violence, sexual violence, digital violence and femicide); consider the different contexts, times, spaces, and places in which gender-based violence occurs; and critically examine criminal justice responses to this violence, including the effectiveness of legal, policy and practice approaches, their ability to meet victim-survivors’ needs, and their propensity to cause further harm. The module will equip students with an in-depth working knowledge of relevant feminist theory, critical theories of masculinities, and intersectional approaches, while also emphasising the importance of centring victim-survivors’ voices, experiences, and perceptions of gender-based violence to better inform criminal justice responses. Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to critically consider the nature and impact of gender-based violence and articulate feminist critiques of contemporary global criminal justice responses to gender-based violence.

This module provides students with an opportunity to learn more about the work of third sector organisations in relation to complex issues of crime and justice in society. Via a 10-week placement as a volunteer with a local voluntary or community organisation, students get to experience first-hand the work these organisations do to support individuals and communities. Through these volunteering placements and through regular workshops involving both academic staff led and peer-based learning, students develop a broader understanding and appreciation of the activities undertaken among these organisations and of their value in relation to issues of crime and justice in society. Students learn about the political and economic context within which this sector exists and operates, and get the opportunity apply and critically evaluate relevant criminological concepts in relation to the work that third sector organisations do in this context.

This module critically focuses on global social harms in a variety of settings. It will attract students interested in a number of contemporary issues, for example: human rights, structural inequalities, social justice, state and corporate power, and accountability. Students will critically examine the complex relationships that exist between the state, corporations, citizens, the law and culture. Using a social harm lens, theoretical frameworks and principles will be applied to examine the structurally embedded nature of harm and violence across the globe. These issues include harms caused by criminal justice agencies and social policy architectures; environmental and corporate harms in the Global South; and stigma, cultural and institutional harms. Issues will be critically evaluated by focusing attention on multiple sites and social locations from various national and regional contexts. This will encourage students to go beyond the study of state and corporate harms in the UK thinking to consider global structural dynamics of harm in diverse locations.

This module provides a comprehensive exploration of migration-related issues, employing a multidisciplinary approach. Students will be introduced to various disciplines and methods that address the vulnerabilities of migrants, fostering a global perspective on social challenges associated with migration. The curriculum encourages critical analysis of cross-border migration’s growth and contemporary challenges, emphasising sociological, criminological, and legal sources. Students will develop a nuanced understanding of domestic and international regulations concerning migration, trafficking, and modern slavery. Additionally, the module explores the impact of migration on society and its connection to criminal activities, cultivating a critical mindset to navigate this complex field.

In this module, students will critically analysing “true crime” over the ages and across the world, with the aim of finally “pitching” their own true crime documentary or podcast. Students will be asked to reflect critically on how media represents ‘crime” historically and today, in the context of criminological theory, critical media studies and ethical issues. Students will also be trained in digital historical research skills to identify and research a case-study, that they will then turn into a ‘pitch’ for a true crime narrative of their own creation.

In today’s technologically astute society, the way in which crime is conducted is evolving at an ever-increasing rate. Dark Web crime is the latest, most evolved, strain of cybercrime. It involves criminals accessing a hidden part of the internet, the Dark Web, in order to facilitate and commit a range of illegal activities including drug trafficking, the sale of firearms and personal information, terrorist financing, and money laundering. In so doing. Dark Web criminals utilise a range of privacy enhancing software (Tor, VPNs, and cryptocurrencies) with the aim of evading law enforcement detection. In this module, students will learn about the fundamental characteristics of the Dark Web, the challenges it presents to the law and law enforcement across a range of different criminal offences, and recent legal attempts to intervene in this space.

Financial crime is a trillion dollar industry. Its methods, like its effects, are many and varied, ranging from relatively simple frauds, to sophisticated criminal operations traversing national boundaries and taking advantage of emerging and established technologies and professionals. This module introduces students to some of the key issues in legal and regulatory fight against financial crime drawing on examples from a range of case studies, including anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption and fraud. The module is internationally focused addressing the relevant law from international, European, and domestic perspectives

Autoethnography is a qualitative method that focuses on the self as the subject of research interest. In this module, students will learn about how autoethnography can be conducted through the combination of writing and photography, creating a kind of visual autoethnography. Students will make use of the theoretical and methodological literature around autoethnography, photo-diaries and photography as a research method in order to develop their own sociological photo-diary.

Michel Foucault’s work has been influential in a wide range of disciplines. SOCI515 is a module that introduces students to the uses of Foucault’s theory and method within the social sciences. The module is structured to provide an insight into the ways Foucault’s technique and method have been taken up in sociology and applied to social research. Focusing on discourse as the cornerstone of Foucault’s methods our aim is to reconsider the status of ‘reality’ in the social sciences.

Ethnomethodology and conversation analysis are radical approaches to social inquiry. While distinct, ethnomethodology – the study of practical methods of action and reasoning, i.e. ‘ethno-methods’ – and conversation analysis – the study of ‘talk-in-interaction’ – are grounded in detailed investigations of how people in all manner of ordinary and specialised sites and settings organise their activities from within. Although this module will chart the development of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and situate them intellectually in wider fields of inquiry, its purpose is to provide an advanced, hands-on introduction to the unique way both approach the study of social practices via ‘tutorial problems’ centred on the analysis of interactional data collected as part of small-scale fieldwork exercises. Among others things, the module will look at how ethnographic research, observation and interviewing can be ‘repurposed’, that is, put to work in alternate ways when pursued ethnomethodologically.

This module gives you the opportunity to plan a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project in preparation for your dissertation. Students will be given the opportunity to do this through Interchange, a charity that links students to 3rd sector organisations working in social welfare, social policy or criminal justice contexts. Students will not be encouraged to undertake a PAR dissertation unless they have completed this module.

This module will consider how data can be visualized to reveal, or conceal, patterns in the social world. Students will be introduced to principles which are deemed to characterise successful visualization, and will learn how to implement such principles using the programming language R.

This 5 credit module is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Students are introduced to a critical understanding of discourse, which in turn encourages the analysis of language use in relation to questions of power in society. The module seeks to enable students’ engagement in such analyses, introducing them to appropriate methods and techniques, and providing them the opportunity to put these into practice.

How does one integrate photography into a research project, and how can this be in a creative and aesthetically impactful manner? In this module students will be introduced to photography as a visual method in the social sciences, particularly as a way to investigate social phenomenon. This module will also consider how photography works as a form of practice-based research, where creative practice affords us more opportunities to develop new insights into the social world.

As an alternative to a standard dissertation, an Extended Interchange Project provides students with the opportunity to undertake a research project on behalf of a local voluntary or community organisation. Working to an initial brief developed in collaboration with our charity partner Interchange, students get to undertake a project to address an organisation’s real world research needs, and produce knowledge that stands to impact positively on the work that they do in the local community. The applied and collaborative nature of these projects provides opportunities to develop a range of practical research and research related skills, and to gain invaluable experience of research in the real world.

​In this module students formulate a research question and develop a research proposal, including a clear research strategy. Students will work independently to conduct library based or original empirical, social–scientific research aimed at answering a research question, applying methodological principles and research techniques. The dissertation requires students to creatively use theoretical insights and concepts relevant to the research question at hand, to generate new knowledge about the issue addressed in the thesis and report about the research and the results in a clear and systematic way.