BA (Hons) Criminology and International Relations

Level One

Global Conflicts and Contexts
This module will introduce students to core issues of relevance to international relations study. The unit initially focuses on the development of mechanisms to control and avoid the emergence of international conflict in its various guises. It then moves on to examine a number of key contemporary issues such as global inequality, international political economy, globalization and emerging transnational civil societies. The unit is intended to expose students to the breadth of issues and approaches relevant to the study of international relations and international politics more broadly.

Identity and Citizenship
This module explicitly adopts an interdisciplinary approach to core questions of relevance to today’s society. Taking the notion of identity as its leitmotif, the module introduces students to those ways in which academic knowledge has traditionally been divided along disciplinary lines. With this by way of background, the module will guide students in bringing knowledge forms from within their own – and other – disciplines to bear on key contemporary social and political issues. As such, the module will expose students to the potentials and pitfalls of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving and policy development in areas concerning (for example) citizenship, social belonging and isolation, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion or nationalism. Throughout students will be encouraged to think critically about the nature of their own identities and the impact of their future professional practise on the nature and practise of identities

Applying Research
This module aims to enable students to both recognise and also understand the different methodologies employed in social research and to apply these to their own research project and critique of methods. After completing this module students should be able to:

• Explain what research is and why we do it.
• Explain how research may be carried out: quantitatively
• Explain how research may be carried out: qualitatively

Overall, the aim of this unit is to set out methodological skills, and involve you in their application, and to encourage critical reflection on a variety of levels.

Images of Crime and Social Control
The aim of this module is to facilitate a critical engagement with the dominant ideological depictions of crime and criminality. It seeks to challenge the way in which these interpretations inform commonsense explanations of, and responses to, crime and criminality. It explores recurring claims found in popular, media and political discourses and compares these with more criminological and academic insights in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of these issues/problems.

In so doing the module will look at the costs of crime myths and contrasting crime ‘realities’ in terms of public anxieties, political discourses, criminal justice policies and practices. The introduction and evaluation of various responses will encourage students to consider the extent and limits of potential ‘solutions’. This will be done through looking at key images of crime/criminality. For instance the study of prostitution will invite explanations of the various issues involved therein at commonsense and more theoretical levels.

Level Two

Comparative Regionalism
Regional intergovernmental organisations, which have been increasing in number, have been a common feature of international politics since the end of the Second World War. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the European Union, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), are just examples of such organisations. However, these organisations do not exist in a theoretical vacuum and are there to achieve certain goals both at the regional and the state level. The achievements of these goals, at regional and state levels, are very interesting areas of analysis in order to assess the extent to which these organisations have been successful or not.

Thinking International Relations
This module places theory at the centre of the study of world politics. It provides a critical overview of the disciplinary literature of international relations from both mainstream and critical perspectives. The module aims to provide students with the ability to both understand and critically employ the concepts, approaches and methods of International Relations theory, and to develop an understanding of their contested nature and the problematic character of inquiry in the discipline. Case studies and contemporary materials will be used extensively throughout the module to illustrate the varying theoretical models and their applicability in the contemporary world.

Criminal Justice
The aim of this module is to provide students with the necessary understanding of the component parts of the Criminal Justice ‘System’ in England and Wales. To allow the students to explore the diversity and interrelatedness of criminal justice policies and practices in this alleged ‘system’. These policies and practices will be evaluated within key theoretical frameworks which consider the functions and appropriateness of key principles such as the due processes of law, justice and fairness.

Applying Criminology?
The aim of this module is to develop the rudimentary and student-centred grasp of 'crime' developed through the more general approach to 'law, crime and order' fostered at foundation level and to subject it to more sustained theoretical, political and practical interrogation. The focus upon crime is a dual one; in that it is at once a subject accessible via direct and indirect experience and one that has the potential to display the interplay between theory and practice. Above all, the module aims to explore the way in which the emergence of Criminology as a discipline is of theoretical, practical and political importance.

‘Applying Criminology?’ examines different public images and theoretical conceptions of crime and criminal justice and the variety of ways in which Criminology can be constructed and used. As such, it addresses the context of ideas about crime and punishment and the theoretical underpinnings of contemporary perspectives on, policies for, and alternatives to, 'crime' control. The module subjects to particular attention the conditions for the generation of a 'crime control' agenda.

Research in Politics and International Relations
Building on the level 1 module, ‘Applying Research’, this module systematically scrutinises examples of research undertaken in the subject areas of Politics and International Relations. One of the main aims of the module is to enable students to understand, in concrete terms, what constitutes research in Politics and IR and how the research process leads to the production of specific research outputs including dissertations, theses, published academic articles and research monographs. In addition, the module aims to provide students with the knowledge base necessary for the production of research proposals and outputs.

Thinking Politics (option)
Thinking Politics examines the historical background to the various strands of political thought and ideas. In doing this, it builds upon some of the major ideas and concepts introduced at level one, by illustrating linkages between political theories and other aspects of politics. In particular, reference is made to key thinkers who have left their intellectual imprint on political ideas and beliefs. Specific reference is made to the work of Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Bentham, Mill, and Marx in order to assess the contribution that each has made to political theory and the extent to which they had a more or less lasting impact upon the practice and analysis of politics. This module provides the theoretical underpinnings needed to facilitate a thorough understanding of political ideas and belief. This module involves an examination of what constitutes ideology and a detailed investigation of the dominant ideologies from the French Revolution right up to and including the collapse of communism.

Comparative Politics and Policy (option)
This module then proceeds from an examination of some basic concepts that can help provide an understanding of the bases upon which governments are built and operate. For example, we look at political culture, legitimacy and authority, and we consider the process of democratisation from a comparative perspective. The theoretical tools and analytical knowledge from the early parts of the module are then applied empirically to consider a variety of features of contemporary politics and policy, including political systems and constitutions, parties and elections, interest groups and a range of important issues in public policy and social policy, such as immigration, asylum, the role and future of welfare states, the challenges of demographic change, and social divisions within societies.

Policing Studies (option)
To address the questions: ‘What’ are the different forms of policing; ‘why’ do we ‘police’ ‘crime’ and ‘deviance’; ‘how’ is it ‘policed’; ‘where’ is it ‘policed’ and by whom? One of the key elements is analyse the ‘realities’ of the range of ‘policing’, and ‘policing practices’, and to contrast these with the theoretical and ideological debates. The question of who is responsible for ‘policing’ ‘crime’ and ‘deviance’ is confronted by the explicit attention to the various ways in which crime control and the responsibility for crime are subject to complex forms of ‘privatisation’. Relevant themes of increasing pluralisation; centralisation, decentralisation and analysis of theoretical frameworks which shape ‘responses’ are addressed through exploration of key themes and topics. The issue of agency, especially in connection with the fracturing policing function, is an important dimension of this process. The drift towards private forms of security highlights the way in which public and private space are designated and the issue of ‘Where’ crime and deviance are pursued and the limits of law are, in this respect, brought to the fore.

Level Three

Globalisation and Developing Societies
The module introduces students to the possibilities of rethinking the processes of international change and exchange as they affect developing societies and peoples. This involves both a critical reading of disciplinary international relations and an engagement with alternative sources of knowledge about international processes. Beginning with the impact of Western imperial penetration, the module explores the interaction between North and South. It then reviews paradigms drawn from postcolonial studies, the discipline of history and globalization theory as they bear upon contemporary issues such as nation, development, violence and gender. Throughout students will be encouraged to relate theory to accounts of lived experience.

Studying Criminology and International Relations at Lincoln combines directed and independent learning. Each module is delivered my means of a weekly lecture and an associated weekly seminar. The seminars provide an opportunity for students to discuss issues raised in the lecture and engage in critical reflection on set readings. Students will also have the opportunity to meet with module leaders in tutorial sessions. As well as directed study, students will undertake independent learning utilising traditional library as well as a wide range of electronic resources. The level 1 module Applying Research aims to provide students with the requisite skills for effective independent learning.

Assessment varies across modules and includes essay and report assessment, undertaking reviews, group presentations and more traditional forms of examination assessment.

For further information and funding your studey please see our Fees & Funding pages.

Fees and Funding