Unit information: Harms of the Powerful in 2018/19

Unit name	Harms of the Powerful
Unit code	SPOL20034
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Mike McBeth
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The crimes and harms, including violence, committed by corporations and states are among the most devastating of all crimes and harms. This unit examines the nature, extent, and impact of the harms of the powerful and seeks to understand the various explanations for this type of activity. The specific aims of the unit are to:

• examine the crimes and harms of the powerful focusing on their nature, extent and impact
• theorise about the causes of the harms of the powerful
• examine the different approaches traditionally taken to law enforcement and policy intervention in this field and review their effectiveness.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students should be able to:

• demonstrate the different types of crimes and harms associated with corporate and state actors
• assess the prevalence and impact of their activities on society
• explain why such crimes and harms occur
• evaluate law enforcement strategies including recent policies and interventions (in both national and international levels) which attempt to hold corporations and states accountable for their actions.

Teaching Information

Lectures (20 hours) and Seminars (10 hours) plus 1 reading week and 1 revision week.

Assessment Information

The assessments have been developed in order to meet the intended learning outcomes of the unit:

Formative assessment:

• a seminar presentation of a small group project which has been jointly researched, and
• One 2500 (maximum) word essay

• Summative assessment is
• One 3000 (maximum) word essay.

All assessment is marked against the published marking criteria for that level, as stated in the Programme handbook.

Reading and References

Barak, G. (2015) (ed.) The Routledge international handbook of the crimes of the powerful, Oxford: Routledge

Chambliss, W., Michalowski;R., Kramer, R. (2010) State crime in the global age, Cullompton : Willan Publishing

Cohen, S. (2000) States of Denial, London: Polity Press

Stanley, E. and McCulloch, J. (2013) (eds.) State Crime and Resistance, London: Routledge

Tombs, S. and Whyte, D. (2015) The Corporate Criminal. Why corporations must be abolished, London: Routledge

Whyte, D. (2015) (ed.) How Corrupt is Britain? London: Pluto Press