Course Resources Archive

Homicide is the (lawful or unlawful) killing of one human being by another; unlawful homicide categories include infanticide, manslaughter and murder; lawful homicide categories include state sanctioned deaths or accidents. As unlawful homicide is often perceived to be one of the most serious of offending behaviours, the ways in which we respond to it reveal much about our culture and our values. This module will explore how we define and respond to homicide, who commits it and why, and suggestions to reduce its prevalence.

The delivery is structured as three key sections which cover, 1. What is homicide? A look at the legal definition and the cultural interpretations, as well as statistics and prevalence of the crime 2. Explaining homicide; a discussion of who kills and why 3. Responding to Homicide; an exploration of the different ways in which the criminal justice system and the media respond to different forms of homicide and a discussion of research looking at preventing homicide.

i. Knowledge and Understanding
On completion of the module students should be able to demonstrate:
a) An informed understanding of the complex nature of categorising and responding to homicide
b) Critical awareness of frameworks for formally responding to homicide in the criminal justice system
c) Evidence-based appreciation of the cultural and social issues in constructing categories of homicide and representation of those categories in media and criminal justice
d) Critical awareness of research findings on reducing different forms of homicide
e) An informed understanding of national and global issues relating to rationalising homicide

ii. Skills
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
a) Critically reflect upon the different ways in which we respond to violence in our own and different cultures
b) Develop an understanding of the ways in which we construct categories of homicide and offenders
c) Search for and retrieve information from a variety of sources.
d) Present a coherent and objective argument using gathered data

Staff/student contact: 16%
Student private study 84%
Methods include: lectures, workshops, videos, guest speakers

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.