Sociology and Criminology

Resistance Movements in Conflict & War

Module code: L4106A
Level 5
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Essay

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this module will explore the concept of resistance within conflict and war. This will be achieved by investigating the intersection between violence, ethics, politics, social and economic issues, and human rights.

These discussions will be grounded in a range of critical academic theories and concepts, including:

• resistance theory
• social movement theory
• other related issues around collective behaviour, rational choice theory and framing.

To place this into real-world context, the module will focus upon different resistance movements throughout history who have ‘broken the law’ in order to achieve what they, and often others, deemed to be some type of positive social change.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of positive social change as a concept.
• Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of empirical research on positive social change.
• Apply the theoretical concepts/frameworks covered in the module to empirical examples, in order to critically analyse these examples.
• Critically assess the competing arguments that challenge the definitions of positive social change.