Introduction
Programme overview
What are the attractions in dealing drugs, being a graffiti writer, or trying to rehabilitate criminals? Cultural criminology aims to explain and understand how people involved in deviance, crime or social control go about their everyday life and how they interact with others.
Instead of focusing on statistics such as increases in crime or correlations of numbers, which criminology often has relied upon, we ask what governs relationships in the drug world or that of prostitution, among buyers, sellers and the police. We aim to get inside the experiences of committing or controlling crime and to grasp the biographical and emotional aspects.
If you are a graffiti writer, what are the thrills? What tools are you expected to use, what vocabulary and even what clothes are you expected to wear? Investigating corruption, we find important cultural themes governing both those involved in corruption and the anti-corruption movement. Actors navigate between different conceptions of what is considered a gift and a bribe, linked to differences between countries but also between professions and historical periods.
We are interested in how media represents crime but also in personal experiences and detailed accounts of life inside institutions. We primarily use field notes, interviews, texts, images and Internet data.
In short, cultural criminology is about local cultures, subcultures and a multitude of cultural characteristics associated with crime or deviance.
As a student on the programme, you will acquire:
Knowledge and understanding within criminology, anthropology and sociology, including knowledge of the disciplinary foundation of the fields and general knowledge of current research issues.
Specialised knowledge of research methods in cultural criminology.
The ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and analyse, assess and deal with complex cultural criminological phenomena, issues and situations.
The ability to identify and formulate research questions critically, autonomously and creatively as well as to plan and, using appropriate methods, undertake advanced tasks within predetermined time frames and so contribute to the formation of knowledge as well as the ability to evaluate this work.
The skills required for participation in research and development work or autonomous employment in some other qualified capacity.
Programme structure
Cultural Criminology: Theories, Concepts and Perspectives (15 credits)
Methods and Social Analysis (15 credits)
Applied Cultural Criminology (15 credits)
Ethnography in Social Science or selected courses in theory of science and research methods (in total 15 credits)
Elective courses/study abroad/internship (30 credits)
Master’s thesis (30 credits)
Career prospects
Crime and punishment are continuously topical in public debate. Furthermore, they constitute the basis for many of modern society’s professions and professional activities: prison officers, crime prevention officers, university lecturers, police officers, social analysts, etc. This programme will also prepare you for PhD-studies and a continued academic career.
