Module overview
This module examines crime and criminal law in its broader cultural and historical context. It focuses on the strategies and techniques that lawyers, judges and commentators use to persuade others to their viewpoint, and that give us the fascinating stories, characters and ideas that make up criminal law. We look at the way that these stories and characters have been derived from outside of law: from fiction, drama and art, and which have in turn guided the development of our laws and key legal judgments. The module involves discussion of certain offences, e.g. murder, manslaughter, piracy, rape, as well as important broader issues, e.g. criminal justice as a spectacle (what does modern justice owe to visual art and theatrical performance?); 'hot' and 'cold'- blooded killing (what is the moral and legal distinction?); justice and revenge (what's the difference?); the role of metaphors such as the 'scales of justice' (what does criminal justice owe to ancient practices of trade and commerce?).
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- interpret, analyse and critically comment upon the decisions and reasoning in criminal case law.
- evaluate critically the specific criminal law and policies studied comment on and evaluate arguments put forward by others;
- explain what literary and cultural depictions of themes such as justice, desert, power and inequality bring to bear on law and policy;
- form your own independent view on relevant law and policy in the light of a range of critical perspectives;
- critically analyse a broad range of texts including legislation, case law, fiction and drama, and connections between them;
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- critically analyse texts and contexts in such a way that will help to broaden your analytical skills more form your own independent view of relevant law, policy and critique;
- read texts 'critically', that is to say, to understand the subtext of a piece of writing, whether in a legal, literary or some other context;
- understand the character and use of 'principles': their interpretation, arguments surrounding them, their effects and wider impacts;
- conduct research and better organise and manage your time and personal (intellectual) resources.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- criminal legal rules both in England & Wales and other jurisdictions on violence and sex;
- literary, cultural and critical themes as they apply to criminal law.
Syllabus
The module content is structured around three key topics: 1) The tools used for constructing criminal law arguments, judgments and critiques (metaphor, analogy, metonym); 2) The importance of 'stories' (narrative, plot, myth and genre) for legislators, trial lawyers and judges (e.g. human rights, asylum and the 'refugee story'); 3) criminal law's 'characters' (e.g. the figure of the murderer, and the pirate) and how the characterisation of people assists in generating legal initiatives and judgments.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will be by ten 2-hour classes across a single semester (20 hours total). These 10 classes comprise a mix of 7 lectures and 3 seminars, and places a strong emphasis on active engagement and interactivity.
As part of the learning activities you are expected to prepare for the seminars to the appropriate level as instructed by the module coordinator..
Preparation for and participation in the seminars will develop:
- Your knowledge and understanding of relevant law and critical perspectives;
- Your ability to evaluate relevant case law, literature and critical perspectives to assess the underlying concerns about norms;
- Your effectiveness in working both individually and also in a group.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 6 |
| Completion of assessment task | 50 |
| Wider reading or practice | 40 |
| Lecture | 14 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 40 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Miller W.I (2006). Eye for an Eye. Cambridge.
Adams, C. J. (2010). The Sexual Politics of Meat. Continuum.
Gurnham, D (2014). Memory, Imagination, Justice: intersection of law and literature. Routledge.
Gurnham, D (2014). Crime, Desire and Law's Unconscious: Law, Literature and Culture. Routledge.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
The module is assessed by a single end of semester exam. There will also be a Formative assignment which you will be invited to complete to receive individual tutor-feedback.Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Essay
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback: Written feedback on a standard form, as well as a mark.
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External