KRIM2960 ¨C Green Criminology

Course content

This course addresses various forms of environmental crimes and harms as well as various forms of animal abuse, both those which are legal and those which are illegal, through examples of empirical research. Harms are i.e. those produced by, pollution, deforestation and illegal logging, wildlife trafficking and biopiracy. The course critically examines criminalization processes; the mechanisms which cause some of these harms to be legal while others are criminalized. The course further addresses the mechanisms which cause environmental crimes, such as consumerism and capitalism.

Concerns within the field are how crime is conceptualized, law enforcement and punishment, or lack of punishment, in relation to such harms, how they should be understood and how they should be addressed.

The course crosses disciplinary boundaries and emphasizes a variety of approaches to these issues, although with a criminological starting point. These approaches include perspectives which, for example, are lent from philosophy, such as moral rights and perspectives of justice.

Lectures will present and discuss the current status of research related to the given theme. Every lecture aims at presenting the forefront of research, and the course includes lectures from well-known scholars in the field.

Learning outcome

The students will learn how and why green criminology has become an important and fast expanding field in critical criminology, and about the topics and perspectives which are relevant in the field; for example it expands the understanding of what criminology is and what it should be by applying perspectives of justice, rather than limiting the focus to acts which are criminalized. The course provides insight into how environmental harms affect both human and nonhuman species.

Knowledge,?at the end of the course, students are expected to know:

• How environmental crimes and harms affect human and nonhuman species, and examples of such harms.
• What green criminology is and encompasses in relation to conventional criminology, and how it diverges from conventional criminology.
• Central discussions and positions in contemporary research on green criminology.
• Different theoretical perspectives in green criminology..

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 why some environmental harms are criminalized while others are condoned.
• Be able to discuss various environmental crimes and their causes and effects, as well as of criminalization processes of the same harms

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 green criminology perspective
• Developed their capability to critically reflect on the meaning of crime and harm in relation to how societies, policies and the judicial system address environmental harms and animal abuse

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.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with KRIM4960 ¨C Green Criminology.
• 5 credits overlap with KRIM2920 ¨C Gr?nn (?ko-global) kriminologi.
• 5 credits overlap with KRIM4920 ¨C Gr?nn (?ko-global) kriminologi.

Teaching

Lectures

The students are expected to take active part in classes and commit to preparing group presentations of assignments given in class concerning various forms of environmental crimes and harms as they are described in the curriculum.?

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.