KRIM2957 – 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 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 understandig 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;
aqquire 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.
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 KRIM4957 – Surveillance: Data, technologies, practices.
Teaching
Lectures.
Examination
Students are graded on the basis of a 3-day written home exam.
Maximum length for written home exam on Bachelor’s level is 2500 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 2500 word limit.
Papers that exceed the 2500 word limit will be rejected, and not graded.
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.
Language of examination
Subjects taught in English will only offer the exam paper in English.
You may write your examination paper 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.
Marking criteria:?This guide is used by examiners for grading this course.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- 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.