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Safe City Lecture Series

Vak
2023-2024

Admission requirements

This course is available for students in the BA Urban Studies programme and to a limited amount of external students.

Description

The Safe City lecture series is an introduction to crime, safety and policing in urban contexts in a long-term perspective. The course consists of 12 lectures, and focuses on the following questions:

  • How are crime and safety defined in a long-term perspective?

  • Can patterns of crime be identified over the long term?

  • How can we explain patterns of urban crime?

  • How have crime and safety issues been handled by urban authorities?

  • How can we study urban crime and the effects of policing on urban crime?

In the first lectures, students are introduced to the history of criminology and will study historical case-studies. The second part of the lecture series focuses on contemporary cases.

Students will learn how to apply criminology theories onto historical and contemporary case-studies. Students will get an understanding of the relation between the urban context and crime, and the theories that have been used to explain the concentration of crime in certain places and times.

Course objectives

General learning outcomes

See tab Additional information for the overview of the programme's general learning outcomes. In the assessment methods below is outlined which general learning outcome will be tested through which method.

Course objectives, pertaining to this course

The students are able to:

1) Identify key questions and topics regarding crime and safety as formulated in the lectures and literature. These questions relate to: definitions of crime, trends and developments in urban crime, urban policing in a long term perspective, urban criminology, the relation between urban context and crime, and theories developed by criminologists to explain the concentration of crime across time and space.
2) Summarize and reproduce the most important questions and topics on crime and safety, trends and developments, and policing of urban crime in a long-term perspective, as formulated in the lectures and literature.
3) Classify and recognize key concepts in urban criminology, as formulated in the course literature.
4) Apply the definitions and theories in urban criminology on both historical and contemporary case studies.
5) Plan and schedule their study: organise and use relatively large amounts of information and data.

Timetable

The timetables are available through My Timetable.

Mode of instruction

  • Lectures

Assessment method

Assessment

  • Group project (5-6 students per group, depending on the total number of students; mid-term). Students will produce a short presentation video discussing the sources necessary and their limitations to be able to test one (or more) theory.
    -measured programme's general learning outcomes: 1, 4-5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 22
    -measured course specific objectives: 1-5

  • Final exam (December)
    A written examination with open questions, based on the literature and lectures.
    -measured programme's general learning outcomes: 1, 4-5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 22
    -measured course specific objectives: 1-5

Weighing

Partial grade Weighing
Group project 40%
Final Exam 60%

End grade

To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:

  • The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the group project and the final exam grade.

  • The weighted average needs to be 5.50 or higher.

Resit

If the grade for the Final Exam is lower than 5.50, there is a possibility of retaking this exam, replacing the previous grade.

The resit will be similar to the final exam (open and multiple-choice questions).

Faculty regulations concerning participation in resits are listed in article 4.1 of the Faculty Course and Examination Regulations.

Exam review

How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.

Reading list

  • Newburn, T. (2018). Criminology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.;

  • Weekly literature on Brightspace.

Registration

General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.

Registration Exchange

For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.

Contact

  • For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.

  • For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA Urban Studies.

Remarks

A limited amount of external students can follow this course as an elective course. To enroll, send an email to he Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA Urban Studies.