Criminology (Part-Time)

Global Criminology and Policing

Human Rights and Contemporary Justice

Contemporary Theory and Research in Criminology

Political Violence and Terrorism

In this core module on the MA Criminology course you’ll critically evaluate contemporary perspectives on human rights and justice systems. You’ll learn to critically explore concepts, debates, literature (i.e. recent research and policy material) related to the operation of human rights within the British criminal justice system and internationally. It will foster engaged and critical thinking about human rights in terms of its impact on the operation of the criminal justice system and the wider application of human rights discourse to issues such as free speech and environmental protection and ecological justice.

In this module you’ll consider the apparent conflict between contemporary perspectives on human rights and the administration of justice systems as well as wider issues relating to how both theoretical and practical conceptions of human rights impact on the extent to which respect for rights is embedded into justice policy. You’ll be required to adopt a critical approach to theoretical debates on human rights, justice, and the tension between state justice policies and the rights of individuals and marginalized groups.

The module aims to allow postgraduate students to engage with a range of issues that they are likely to encounter in contemporary practice settings. The module requires you to critically examine theoretical concepts and practical considerations in human rights and will appeal to anyone seeking an academic and technical exposure to human rights prior to undertaking doctoral work.

The module also helps you to develop knowledge and skills appropriate to working in the NGO sector, local authorities and other policy and enforcement bodies within the public justice sector that are bound by the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 and whose decisions and actions are ultimately amenable to challenge on human rights grounds. - (20 credits) Compulsory

This module introduces the major theoretical positions and debates in criminology to illustrate the links between criminological theory and research and between policy and practice. Studying the principal research methodologies deployed in criminological investigation equips students with the core skills needed to conduct their own criminological research. - (20 credits) Compulsory

This core module on the MA Criminology will introduce you to key debates about political violence and contemporary terrorism. You’ll be required to consider a range of perspectives emerging from the study of the different forms of political violence, including terrorism and war. It also adopts a critical approach to theoretical and contextual debates on the use of the term terrorism as shorthand for a range of issues relating to political violence. Both institutional and anti-institutional violence will be discussed, along with critical analysis of the controversies surrounding the definitions of violence and terrorism in the different epochs.

In the module you’ll examine in detail the contributions of the major schools of thought, along with the most recent sociological-criminological analysis of authorised and unauthorised political violence. The module requires you to critically examine theoretical concepts and practical considerations in contemporary political violence and terrorism discourse drawing on a range of case studies.