Black Studies (Criminal Justice) - BA (Hons)

Black Political Activism introduces students to the different approaches that have been used to resist racism across the African Diaspora. We will explore a range of liberal, radical and contemporary forms of activism and root this in a discussion of how society is understood. The module engages with a range of case of studies of organisations and politics, and will also consider intersectionality in the context of Black political activism.

Black theoretical perspectives and debates on crime, criminal justice, and criminology are seldom heard, seen, or referred to, within so called ‘mainstream criminology’. A possible explanation pertaining to this ‘invisibility’ could be as a consequence of ‘implicit biases’ within the discipline itself. It is argued that these implicit biases further reproduce and reinforces privilege of some perspectives, whilst at the same time subordinating others. Russell (2002) calls for the development of a ‘black criminology’, Phillips and Bowling (2003) further call for the need to develop ‘minority perspectives’ in criminology, whilst Glynn (2018) sees the need for a Critical Race Criminology to transcend the current subordinate status of non-white criminological perspectives.

Black Studies Methods aims to teach students methods of engaging in research that directly impacts on the social world outside of the university. We will explore a range of methodological approaches that complement and extend traditional approaches in sociology. Students will be expected to critique “taken for granted” notions of research and also to develop engaged and community based research projects.

This module aims to extend your critical knowledge and analysis of Black feminist discourses, in particular, to understand Black feminist ways of knowing and being in the world. We will examine black feminism through the lens of theory, popular culture, and political activism to ask questions about power and ongoing forms of domination. In particular we will consider how Black feminism provides an epistemological framework that resists, transgresses and negotiates dominant ideologies.

The module will explore how Black Feminism can speak to and construct democratic ideas of freedom and liberation while engaging questions of hypervisibility, invisibility and marginality. The core of this module will begin from an intersectional position to consider how black feminist theories are complex and varied in exposing the operations of power and transformative forms of political possibility.

The aim of the Placement Module is to offer Level 5 students the opportunity to apply their Level 4 knowledge and understanding of Black Studies perspectives to the world of community practice and employment. This includes public, private and voluntary sector organisation settings. In addition to developing the skills of reflexive practice, students will gain critical insight into the structures, processes and working practices of their host institution.

Traditionally criminology has focused on those who perpetrate harm and given far less attention to those who experience harm, and this module seeks to address this discrepancy. This module will give some consideration as to why some events which cause harm are formally labelled and treated as crimes when others are not, and in doing so we will consider the impact of this upon those who experience these harms.

In this module we will take a critical look at the shifting nature of crime, social contexts, and the impact of crime on space and place as linked to the urban city as a social milieu. We will also investigate the nature of contemporary city living and how this is experienced across intersections of identity, and what this means for vulnerabilities to being victims of crime or being led into criminal pathways. We will also look in detail at forms of criminological theory and consider newer emergent aspects of cultural and critical forms of criminology.

Youth Crime and Justice aims to equip students with a sound theoretical knowledge of juvenile offending and justice. In essence, the understanding of the complex relationship between young people and criminality fits within the wider aims of the degree programme and associated pathways as it draws on sociological, psychological and criminological understandings, furthering students’ ability to understand and problematize crime and its causes. The module also recognises that the separate and distinct administration to criminal justice to young people is a topic worthy of consideration in its own right, and considers important debates around justice, welfare, education and the construction of youth and childhood. It takes both a contemporary and historical focus, considering how the nexus of crime, control and youth have variously been considered during different historical periods. 

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40- week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.  Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

The module explores and examines the historical context which produced the Black Arts Movement in the UK. It aligns with the aims of the Black Studies degree programme as it focusses on a social movement, and discusses the contribution that artists from the African diaspora have contributed to visual culture. By engaging with a range of intellectual perspectives that contributed to the development of the Black Arts Movement, students will have the opportunity to understand how, in the case of the Black Arts Movement, intellectual thought and artistic production are symbiotic.

Black communities have a long history in Britain. It is important to recognise the histories, contributions and perspectives that Black communities have brought to Britain. This is both within terms of engagements on the British isles, which date back to at least Roman times and also understanding Britain as an empire where Africa and the diaspora populations contributed to the nation from the colonies. In this module we will be looking at how Blackness has been articulated in relation to Black communities in Britain. We will be covering histories, experiences in institutional spaces and the stories of migration into Britain.

The Black Studies Project is the culmination of the work that the students have completed over the preceding years of the degree. They will draw upon the work in the Level 5 module Black Studies Methods in order to carry out their own independent research project.

This innovative module will engage your critical thinking to situate emotions at the forefront of contemporary criminological thought by examining the experience and role of emotions in criminal behaviour and criminal justice responses to such behaviours. The approach to emotions within the legal system and criminal justice agencies is often paradoxical. Your module content will draw on diverse theoretical approaches to define emotions and the affective role of emotions in our everyday lives. Building on this, the module seeks to examine the social construction of emotions in comparative British and international contexts. The intersection of emotions, power and gender is central to your analysis of representations of offending and criminal justice policy and practices across cultural and jurisdictional contexts.

This module will explore the gendered nature of crime and criminal justice. In doing so, we will consider the gendered perspective of victims, perpetrators and those working within the Criminal Justice System. This module will draw on a broad theoretical framework; including feminist, psychological, biological and human rights perspectives. This module is central to the students’ development of critical appreciation of the relationship between the individual and social aspects of crime and victimisation. 

The module will introduce students to the complex world of cyber-crime and issues related to cyber technology and how the police deal with cyber issues from cyber terrorism, cyber bullying and cyber hate.  The module will work well alongside the other modules related to security studies where students will examine the rationale of cyber-crimes. 

The module will examine surveillance and the extent to which everyday life is now subject to an extensive array of monitoring and data collection. The module questions how and why state surveillance practices operate and also explores the extent to which civil liberties and personal freedoms have been affected by recent surveillance developments. We will consider the revelations of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, as well as theorists such as Foucault and Bentham. The module will expand on how governments, big business and new technologies are aiding and easing the collection of personal and targeted data. 

Organised crime has become a significant concern and appears to be on the increase. In this module, you will study contemporary global crimes such as drug and human trafficking, terrorism, illegal arms trading and financial crime through the lens of critical criminology. In addition, you will examine the extent of transnational organised crime, its historicity at a global level and law enforcement responses.

This is a Level 6 optional module which will introduce students to hate crime and issues related to hate crime and how multi-agencies have to deal with such complex issues.  It will examine the issue of vulnerable groups such as children, those with a learning disability and people who have suffered anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia as potential victims of religiously motivated hate crimes. 

Harms of the Powerful encompasses the damaging and victimising behaviours perpetrated by privately or publicly operated corporations, as well as the state facilitated legalistic and political responses to these activities. Within criminology and wider academia, we generally fail to scrutinise those who operate within the upper echelons of society – those individuals or institutions with much economic and cultural capital. This module will address such deficiencies by providing a nuanced and holistic overview of the actions of such individuals, organisations and State actors.