KRIM4957 – Surveillance: Data, technologies, practices
Course description
Course content
Surveillance is an ever-expanding practice that criminologists need to be equipped to address and assess. The course explores the many dimensions of surveillance in the management of populations, including crime control. It will walk students through key surveillance theories, moving from classic models to more recent understandings that take into account new surveillance technologies, as well as practices of resistance to surveillance.
Core themes include
the relation between the surveillant and the surveilled,
different forms of surveillance in many contexts, as well as the actors and tools involved,
surveillance as crime control and how it influences police work,
the societal effects and the politics of surveillance.
Each session will combine theoretical concepts and relevant empirical case studies of surveillance practices. The course syllabus contains readings from criminology, critical security studies, media studies, as well as science and technology studies.
Learning outcome
Knowledge, the course builds a solid knowledge base on different approaches to surveillance:
How have surveillance theories and politics changed in recent years?
Which kind of data, technologies and practices have emerged, and what are their effects on society at large?
What kind of understanding of crime does surveillance imply?
What are the limits of surveillance and what forms of resistance are possible?
Skills, at the end of the course, students will:
be able to place key (surveillance) theories in historical context and discuss theoretical concepts vis-à-vis current affairs,
acquire the know-how to evaluate the latest developments in surveillance in terms of their ethical, political, societal and legal implications,
assess the tendencies of future developments in this fast-moving field,
think creatively about case studies on surveillance, suggest and develop relevant example research questions and projects.
Competences, at the end of the course, students will:?
be able to use relevant theoretical knowledge and vocabulary to assess different criminological phenomena,
deepen their knowledge of analytical tools, which will help them to study phenomena critically and develop their own standpoints on security practices. Tools and insights can also be transferred to other key areas studied in criminology.
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.
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes at UiO can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with KRIM2957 – Surveillance: Data, technologies, practices.
Teaching
Lectures
Examination
Students are graded on the basis of a 4-day written home exam and an oral exam.
Maximum length for written home exam on Master’s level is 4000 words. Front page, contents page (optional) and bibliography are not included. If footnotes are used in the text (at the bottom of each page), they are included in the 4000 word limit.
Papers that exceed the 4000 word limit may be rejected.
The oral exam is held after the home exam and will be a discussion of the assignment and consultation of the student in the syllabus. The oral exam will also verify that the student has written the assignment. The student will receive a preliminary grade after the written exam, which can be adjusted after the oral exam. Preliminary grading and time and place for the oral exam will be published in Canvas the day before.
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You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and?the use of sources and citations. If you violate these rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating.?You can read about what the university considers cheating, and the consequences of cheating here.
General rules on cheating and plagiarism apply during all exams. You must provide a reference whenever you draw upon another person’s ideas, words or research in your answer to the exam question(s). You cannot copy text directly from textbooks, journal articles, court judgments etc. without highlighting that the text is copied. Verbatim quotes must be put in quotation marks, italicised or otherwise highlighted to clearly mark that they are not the candidate’s own words. Failure to cite sources or highlight quotes in your exam answer constitutes a breach of exam regulations, and will be regarded as cheating.
See an example of how to cite correctly here:?Sources and referencing
Any exam at the University of Oslo is being checked for both correct word count and incidents of cheating.
Examination support material
Guidelines on the use of?Artificial Intelligence (AI) in exams:
If all exam support materials and resources are permitted, and the responsible teacher does not specify otherwise, the following applies to the use of AI during exams:
It is permitted to use artificial intelligence as an aid for:
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Checking spelling and grammar, as long as this does not lead to substantial changes in the text's content.
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Finding source material.
Text and other material that are generated entirely or partially using artificial intelligence are not considered the candidate's own work. If you use artificial intelligence to produce any part of the work you submit, you must therefore cite this in your paper. It must also be clearly stated how you have used the specific AI tool. If you do not reference correctly, you may be?suspected of cheating.
Candidates should also familiarize themselves with?information regarding ethical considerations and social responsibility in regard to the the use of AI, as well as the?University’s website on how to use AI as a student.
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.