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The aim of the course is to introduce students to the key themes related to corporate and white-collar crime, and to apply these themes in analysing cases of corporate misconduct. These themes include discussions of power, privilege, information control, and the construction of harm (and who gets to define what is harmful) as they relate to corporate activity. As part of this the course examines the normalisation of business practice and corporate misconduct.

The course is therefore concerned with the construction and commission of corporate crime. Part of critically appraising the crimes of the powerful means identifying and the role that state structures play in facilitating their commission, and so the course will introduce students to particular perspectives and theories that analyse the state/corporate relationship. In doing so, the course will draw upon case studies of corporate misconduct and the harm caused by the crimes of the powerful. Examples of such corporate harm include the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Grenfell Tower and the financial crisis/austerity agenda that followed it.

Learning Outcomes: on successful completion of this module a student will be able to:

1 Critically evaluate frameworks that explain corporate and white-collar crime
2 Analyse the effectiveness of different knowledge claims as they relate to corporate and white-collar crime
3 Critically examine and apply criminological and sociological analyses of corporate crime and white collar-crime to particular situations

State-corporate crime
Neoliberalism
Globalisation
Corporate social responsibility
Greenwashing
Organisational psychology
Green criminology
Corporate deterrence
Corporate knowledge claims
Corporate reputation management
Corporate regulation
Post-colonialism

The course is designed to be delivered largely via an online format. Each week, facilitated by the course leader, students will be directed to particular activities, including reading and exercises to help them consolidate their knowledge, investigate the crimes of the powerful and apply the concepts they encounter.

Initial weeks on the course will be concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, as students familiarise themselves with the key terms necessary to study corporate and white-collar crime. This acquisition will be supported by investigation to apply concepts to examples of corporate crime, potentially facilitated by students assembling a glossary of terms to aid their investigations. Also during this period, students will be introduced to some of the tools they can use to study corporations e.g. websites that track lobbying activity and the possible conflicts of interest lobbying can present. Part of this involves coming to appreciate the privileged positon that corporations are in as offenders, in being able to influence whether their activities are illegal.

Later sections of the course will focus on particular aspects of corporate crime, presented with examples and accompanied by the opportunity for investigation and production of knowledge. Indicative examples include:

• State facilitation of corporate crime (e.g. as studied through the features of the oil industry in the US)
• Reputation management and corporate social responsibility (e.g. via analysis of company twitter feeds and statements following harmful incidents)
• Environmental harm and crimes of the powerful (e.g. through a focus on the Treadmill of Production and capitalist agendas)

Students will be encouraged to choose a particular case of corporate/white-collar crime within the first four weeks of the course. This can be based on examples they have encountered or their own interests. This is the case they will investigate as part of their summative assessment. A sample case study will be given to students to illustrate the themes they might wish to highlight as part of their investigation.

This online format will be supported by face to face contact in a number of ways. At the start of the term students will attend a workshop with the course leader. This will outline the course, give guidance for how to approach study and directs them to particular starting points for their investigations depending on their interests. A workshop later in the term will be directed towards assisting students in the preparation of their summative case analysis. In addition, the course leader will consider establishing a dedicated office hour specifically for students taking the course, to provide them an additional opportunity for ad hoc contact in order to ask questions and seek clarification about course material.

Method of SUMMATIVE assessment: Case Analysis
Outcomes assessed:1-3
Grading Mode (e.g. pass/ fail; %): %
Weighting % : 100%
Passmark: 40%
Word Length:2500
Outline Details: Selection and analysis of a particular case of corporate or white-collar crime.

Nature of FORMATIVE assessment supporting student learning:
Students will submit a 300 word description of their case for peer review. This can form part of their final case analysis. The description will outline the salient features of the crime, including the harm caused and the outcome of the event.

The peer review will ask students to consider another students’ work according to criteria outlined by the course leader. For example, by asking students to respond to a set of questions about the piece of work they are reviewing (e.g. what harm was caused?). This review can be used by students to improve their case descriptions, laying the foundation for the analysis that will form the basis for the rest of the (summative) assessment.