Module LAW3205 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3205: Law, Testimony and Trauma
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
You will take part in developing knowledge in the field by conducting your research project on the legal responses to a traumatic event related to social oppression that you will choose to analyse. During lectures and workshops, you will receive tools that will support and guide you in conducting your research. These include: existing research in the area of law and trauma, theoretical perspectives, an introduction to interdisciplinary research and to creative research methods. You will also learn techniques from art therapy and mindfulness for grounding and self-care for research that can be triggering and/or emotionally taxing. You will be guided in creating your bibliography according to decolonising the curriculum principles.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate an in depth and critical understanding of the relationship between law, testimony and trauma in the context of social oppression. 2. Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the skills required for (1) listening to people who went through trauma and (2) creating an empowering and effective legal response to trauma. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Analyse the interface between legal systems and political contexts. 4. Use the knowledge gained on legal responses in different jurisdictions around the world in your future legal education and practice. 5. Demonstrate the ability to co-produce original knowledge in a socio-legal field. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Exhibit an independent and critical voice in academic research. 7. Conduct group presentations, provide feedback and critique to your peers, and grow as a consequence of the critique and feedback you yourself have received. 8. Employ a critical lens when examining the relationships between law, society and politics, which you can then use in future education and employment in the areas of law and/or politics. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
Critical perspectives on the concept of trauma
Interdisciplinary perspectives on the concept of testimony
Critical theory on the relationship between knowledge and power
Case studies:
- - Domestic violence civil proceedings in England and Wales
- - The Hillsborough tragedy and ensuing legal proceedings
- - The murder of Stephen Lawrence and the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
- - The Grenfell Tower fire and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry
- - The Holocaust and a comparison between the Nuremberg trials and the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem
The majority of contact time will be dedicated to group work on individual research projects.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 25.5 | 124.5 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 3 | 3 x 1 hour lectures on concepts, theory and research tools |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 22.5 | 9 x 2.5 hour sessions. Each session will include a 0.5-1 hour lecture and a 1.5-2 hour workshop |
| Guided independent study | 9 | Pair work, 1 hour a week |
| Guided independent study | 15.5 | Reading in preparation for lectures |
| Guided independent study | 10 | Preparation for formative assessment choice of project topic |
| Guided independent study | 25 | Preparation of summative assessment 1 |
| Guided independent study | 25 | Preparation of summative assessment 2 |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Preparation of summative assessment 3 |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
