Module overview
This is an interdisciplinary module studying issues relating to crime, by way of an exploration and critical analysis of intersections between law, literature and culture. Understanding the way that human behaviours are regulated and understood within the criminal justice system demands an interdisciplinary approach to legal studies. There is a complex set of cultural norms that determine what we consider acceptable and unacceptable in the physical relations between individuals, and what we think of as appropriate and inappropriate ways for others to interfere in those relations. These norms are produced and coded in our laws, literature, as well as in culture more broadly. The aim of the module is to give you a thorough understanding of these ideas, setting law within its wider context. You will be encouraged to apply analytical techniques including psychoanalysis, feminism and ideas relating to race and class to a range of concerns about sexual and violent behaviours and their impacts. The module will focus on critical perspectives on violent and sexual transgressions, considering how legal, literary and cultural responses to these intersect.