Culture and Criminal Justice

About

This innovative module sits at the forefront of cultural criminology and legal humanities, offering students a deep exploration of the relationship between culture and criminal justice. It engages students in critical discussions on how culture shapes, and is shaped by, law covering topics such as art theft, cultural looting, AI and technology, performance in trials, and the role of technology in legal processes. The first half of the module examines criminal justice through the lens of art and culture, exploring literature, theatre, and art that engage with justice themes, and developing analytical skills through performance analysis and creative writing. The second half reverses the perspective, analysing art through a criminal justice lens by considering issues such as censorship, policing culture, and the legal frameworks that regulate art and cultural expression. The module fosters cross-disciplinary thinking and equips students with new methods of critical analysis for criminology, law, and justice studies

Course leader

Kate Leader

Target group

Undergraduates

Course aim

Students taking this module will learn to critically evaluate the processes and dynamics of legal systems, their historical progress, and contemporary criminal justice policy through the lens of art and culture. This perspective will open new and original avenues of analysis for them which will help with critical thinking more generally. Students will furthermore study case law relating to art in the criminal justice system, be it vandalism, obscenity, theft, looting or forgery of cultural objects. The module will question whether there is a difference between art and other objects/subjects when it comes to the criminal justice process and whether there should be

Fee info