KRIM2953 – Criminological and Socio-legal Perspectives on Sexual Violence
Course description
Course content
This course addresses gender, violence and sexuality through presenting and discussing literature, analytical perspectives and empirical case studies on sexual violence.
The course critically addresses criminalization processes and presentations of gender, sexuality and violence in research, policy and media. The course crosses disciplinary boundaries and emphasizes a variety of approaches to the issue, although with a criminological and socio-legal starting point.
With the course literature as a point of departure, lectures will present and discuss the historical development and current status of theory and empirical research on sexual violence. This will include - but not be limited to - relevant research questions, dominating and alternative approaches and research challenges relevant to the overall thematic.
Learning outcome
The course emphasizes the special contribution that criminological and socio-legal research can offer to the understanding of gender, violence and sexuality, and the relation and intersection between these at individual, symbolical and institutional levels. National, transnational and international contexts are addressed, with a primary focus on (re)presentations of sexual violence, the actors involved and gender in research and public and political debates on causes, consequences and responses.
Knowledge, at the end of the course, students are expected to know:
- central discussions and positions in contemporary social scientific research on sexual violence
- how sexual acts, relations and violence are met by law and society
- different theoretical perspectives on sexual violence
- that presentations of violence, perpetrators and victimization processes are often gender-specific
Skills, at the end of the course, students are expected to:
be able to account for central theoretical themes and empirical examples addressed during the course
be able to identify how gender and sexuality constructs and ideals intersect in the construction and understandings of violent offenses
- be able to discuss how gender and sexuality ideals affect social and legal responses to sexual violence
Competences, at the end of the course, students will have:
enhanced their respect and understanding for social scientific critical thinking and inquiry
learned what it entails to interpret, analyze and discuss scholarly texts from a gendered perspective
developed their capability to critically reflect on the meaning and intersection of gender and sexuality in relation to violence and in relation to the ways in which societies and policies address such violence.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Recommended previous knowledge
General knowledge of gender and crime is recommended.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with KRIM4953 – Criminological and Socio-legal Perspectives on Sexual Violence.
Teaching
Teaching on the course is given in the form of eight lectures. The students are also encouraged to form study groups and the teachers will facilitate this during the first lecture.
Examination
Students are graded on the basis of a 4 hours digital school exam.?
The candidates will take the exam on a PC and the submission is digital in Inspera?Read about School exams in Inspera.
Location during the exam and candidate number will be published in Studentweb about a week before the examination.
Examination support material
You may bring up to two copies of a general (non-legal) spelling dictionary, regardless of language. These should not have annotations/notes in them.?
No other examination support material is allowed.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English.
You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.