Southern Criminology: Decolonising the Study of Crime and Justice
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| SOCI4103 | Sociology and Social Policy | 4 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- SOCI4103
- School
- Sociology and Social Policy
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
Criminologists are beginning to recognise how knowledge about crime and criminal justice tends to have been produced in and for the countries of the Global North, and Western Europe and North America in particular.
This module looks at new southern and decolonial perspectives in criminology that question the dominance of this knowledge and its application in the Global South (broadly speaking the continents of Africa, Asia, Central and South America and Oceania).
It examines southern and decolonial theories, what they have to say, how they relate to each other, and how they can help us to understand crime problems, and criminal justice institutions, policies and practices not just in the Global South but in the North as well.
It does this by examining case studies drawn from the Global South, case studies that may involve crime problems like genocide, human trafficking and urban violence, and justice practices that involve the transfer of policies from North to South, such as community policing, or result in the over-representation of indigenous people in prison.
A central theme that runs through the module is the idea that criminology can be seen as a form of 'imperial reason' closely associated with colonialism, and that colonialism itself continues to have a profound impact on how we experience and know about the contemporary world.
Target Students
Only available for MA Social Science Research Students. SOCI4103 should not be taken if the student is/or has taken SOCI3039.
Classes
This module will be a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 40% Coursework 1: Coursework - 1,500 words
- 60% Coursework 2: Coursework - 2,500 words
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
This module aims to help students to use a wide range of ideas, theories and perspectives informed by work in southern and decolonial criminology that is at the forefront of the discipline and apply them to crime and justice in both the Global South and the Global North in ways that take account of experiences of colonisation and its effects on both the colonised and coloniser.Learning Outcomes
Systematically evaluate southern, decolonial related perspectives in criminology as alternatives and/or additions to criminology produced in and for the Global North demonstrating how, where and by whom new knowledge is created
Analyse the differences in approach to the study of crime and justice between southern and decolonial criminologies and between them and the criminologies of the Global North reflecting on the impact of those differences on their own learning
Apply knowledge of southern and decolonial criminologies creatively and in an original way to make sense of crime and justice in and beyond the Global South
Communicate their own understanding effectively in writing to a specialist audience