Module SOC2124 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC2124: Surveillance, Security and the State
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The aim of this module is to introduce students to new developments in criminological practices (strategic and technological) as well as applying new methods for adapting research to this evolving environment. The module will enable students to learn about the socio-legal landscape of criminological practices with a focus on the implications of new technologies for human rights.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Engage in understanding contemporary human rights controversies in criminology 2. Understand and apply appropriate theories and concepts to an analysis of human rights within criminological practices |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Demonstrate an understanding of human rights implications of new practices and technologies in policing and security 4. Demonstrate an understanding of the legislative and framework for the use of new technologies in policing and security 5. Apply and evaluate a range of methods to analyse new criminological practices |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Demonstrate collaborative skills, in presentations and group discussions of course materials 7. Critically evaluate own work and the work of others 8. Present a clear and effective argument, in oral and written form 9. Work independently, within a set time frame, to complete an analytical task |
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:
- Legislative and regulatory framework of intelligence-led policing
- Political repression, surveillance and spying
- Policing protest movements, social movement organisations and industrial disputes
- Impacts of new technologies such as facial recognition and movement prediction software in CCTV on public spaces and civil society
- Impact of profiling technologies for minority communities.
- Policing social media and digital rights
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...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 activity | 22 | 11 x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 22 | Preparation and reading for seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 42 | Preparation and reading for presentation |
| Guided Independent Study | 10 | Additional reading/research |
| Guided Independent Study | 54 | Preparation for essay |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Green, P. J., & Ward, T. (2000). State crime, human rights, and the limits of criminology. Social Justice, 27(1 (79), 101-115.
Lubbers, E. (2012). Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark. London: Pluto Press.
Lubbers, E. (2015). Undercover Research: Corporate and police spying on activists. An introduction to activist intelligence as a new field of surveillance. Surveillance & Society, 13(3/4), 338-353.
Marx, G. T. (1988). Undercover: police surveillance in America. Univ of California Press.
Marx, G. T. (2016). Windows into the soul: Surveillance and society in an age of high technology. University of Chicago Press.
Powell, A., Stratton, G., & Cameron, R. (2018). Digital criminology: Crime and justice in digital society. Routledge.
Smith, G. J., Bennett Moses, L., & Chan, J. (2017). The challenges of doing criminology in the big data era: Towards a digital and data-driven approach. The British journal of criminology, 57(2), 259-274.
Woodman, C. (2018). Spycops in context: A brief history of political policing in Britain. Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
