AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

• To compare definitions, theories and methods of intervention to violence presented by criminologists, lawyers and feminists.
• To examine historical and contemporary conceptions of the law and women's bodies.
• To examine critically the legal process in action with reference to policing, court procedures, psychiatric and “expert” evidence, and sentencing.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

1.       Critically approach moral issues such as those around the causes of violence or justification for different forms of punishment.

2.       Describe different moral stances to his or her own.

3.       Communicate effectively and appropriately in a variety of forms.

CONTENT:

The course explores the relationship between violence, aggression, power and masculinity, from a range of different perspectives including positivism and left realist criminology, radical and socialist feminist approaches to the study of both interpersonal and social violence, and the Foucauldian contribution to the study of the body, sexuality and disciplinary techniques. Particular focus will be on research, statistics and theories relating to homicide, rape, child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Studies of the legal process in action, policing research, victimization studies, the language of war and the media and portrayal of violence will also be considered.

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS:
 
A variety of teaching methods will be used including lectures, seminars, debates and excerpts from documentary films on the law.

Formal contact time - 24 hours

Seminar presentation preparation - 36 hours

Assessment related independent learning – 90 hours

Total 150 hours

ASSESSMENT:

Coursework based on:

• 1,000 word report of either a) designing an information sheet for victims of violence or b) writing a report for a government committee. This will measure the student's ability to communicate in context and to engage sensitively in areas of ethical and moral complexity - 30%.
• 3,000 word essay to measure the student's ability to develop a critical approach to the ethical problems involved in both understanding the treatment and punishment of violence and its relation to the mechanisms of social control. The student's ability to communicate their ideas in writing, both effectively and in context, will also be assessed - 70%.