Minor structure
Overview
Gain an understanding of the political, cultural, socio-economic and historical practices of law and of justice from an Australian and international perspective. Examine the capacity and power of law to deliver justice across a range of social, historical, cultural and political contexts.
Your course structure
The Bachelor of Arts requires the successful completion of 24 subjects (300-points), including at least one major. Most students study eight subjects each year (usually four subjects in each semester) for three years full-time, or the part-time equivalent.
Most Arts majors require 100 points of study (usually eight subjects) for attainment. The majority of Arts minors require 75 points of study (usually 6 subjects) for attainment. This means out of the 300 point program, you have the opportunity to achieve two majors in your course as well as a minor. You will also complete breadth studies and other complimentary Arts subjects.
Completing your minor
If you are taking Law and Justice as a minor, you must complete:
- One level 1 core subject and Arts Discovery
- One level 2 core subject and one level 2 elective subject
- One level 3 core subject and one level 3 elective subject
BREADTH STUDIES
Breadth is a unique feature of the Melbourne curriculum. It gives you the chance to explore subjects outside of arts, developing new perspectives and learning to collaborate with others who have different strengths and interests — just as you will in your future career.
Some of our students use breadth to explore creative interests or topics they have always been curious about. Others used breadth to improve their career prospects by complementing their major with a language, communication skills or business expertise.
Explore this minor
Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this minor.
Core
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Law in Society · 12.5 pts |
Law in Society introduces students to theories, concepts, forms and practices of law in contemporary Australian society. It will provide a foundation both for socio-legal studies subjects in later years and for subjects in disciplines such as politics, criminology and law. In preparing students to engage critically with law, the subject looks at the ways that "harm" is constructed as a legal category. It encourages students to ask who is able to name something as either harmful, or not worthy of state intervention, and how this capacity to name effects socio-political relations. To develop this analysis, the subject discusses the norms that underpin the capacity to name particular practices as harmful, and engages critically with certain historical and current harms. Examples of such harms might include treachery, riot and disorder, terrorism, payback, the Northern Territory Emergency Response, torture, sadomasochistic sex acts, or female circumcision. |
Core
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Law, Culture, Justice · 12.5 pts |
Law doesn’t just operate through rules—it speaks. In fact, law is made, argued, and experienced through language: in the courtroom, in judicial judgments, in legislation, and beyond. It’s found in novels and songs, in photographs and public buildings, in podcasts, maps, and memes. This subject explores the rich cultural worlds in which law lives – and the many forms it takes to communicate our experiences of authority and argument, justice and dissent. In this subject, we examine how the values and meanings of law is communicated, how it shapes and is shaped by its cultural surroundings, and how language – spoken, written, visual, digital, place-based – carries legal authority. From literature and legal rhetoric to visual evidence, court design, and Indigenous storytelling, we ask what it means to read law as a patchwork of cultural texts. Examples are drawn from across the legal landscape – including criminal law, administrative and constitutional law, torts and equity, defamation and international law. In each instance, we ask: how is justice conveyed here – and who gets to speak law? Indicative list of principle topics:
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Electives
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Criminal Law and Political Justice · 12.5 pts |
Criminal law has a central importance in criminology, since it is the criminal law which determines the legality or illegality of behaviours. This subject studies social and political dimensions of the criminal law as it governs institutional processes and the construction of criminality. The first section of the course covers differences in the ways that criminal law and criminology construct social issues as crime, with particular emphasis on the legal processes of criminal justice. The next sections provide substantive examinations of different aspects of the social and political dimensions of criminal law with particular emphasis on topical areas currently subject to contestation and change: such as the regulation of public space; and the ways in which the criminal law seeks to regulate the production of images. |
| Law, Justice and Social Change · 12.5 pts |
Law, Justice and Social Change considers the limits and potential of using law to pursue justice and achieve social change. Through a series of case studies, we critically analyse some of the key goals of law reform (such as access to justice, rights and equality) as well as considering different understanding of justice and what constitutes a just outcome. We also focus on the importance of the process of law reform and having an awareness of its social, historical, cultural and political dynamics. We consider the central role of community organisations in advocating for social and legal change and engage with a range of campaign and inquiries. There is also a strong practical component to the subject – students choose a current law reform issue to consider in light of the issues discussed in the subject and interview a staff member from a community legal centre or government body involved in writing a report or submission that advocates for legal change. These organisations have in the past included the Human Rights Law Centre, Youthlaw, Victorian Council of Social Services, YACVic, Liberty Victoria, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, JobWatch, Berry Street, the Federation of Community Legal Centres and the Mental Health Legal Centre, amongst others. |
Core
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Law in Social Theory · 12.5 pts |
Law in Social Theory builds upon issues introduced in Law in Society, and Law, Justice and Social Change. Through a seminar-style format, it examines the theories of the function and role of law as propounded by a range of socio-legal theorists and movements, including critical, feminist, postcolonial, Indigenous, and systems theory approaches. Students examine these different theories of how law works and law's role, using them as a lens on questions of justice and crime. Each week these theories are considered in light of and tested against contemporary criminological and socio-legal problems selected by the students and the lecturer. Case studies in the past have included Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, and the Review of the Australian Defence Force's Treatment of Women. The purpose of the subject is thus two-fold: to become familiar with different theories of the function of law in relation to society, and to consider the insight these theories bring to different criminological and socio-legal problems. |
Electives
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Public Trials · 12.5 pts |
Public Trials is taking a one-year pause during 2026 for a curriculum refresh. We plan to relaunch in 2027 with updated assessment and learning outcomes.Trials play an important role in the drama of public life. Their study enables a contextual exploration of how law is constructed and performed. The guiding questions of this subject are: what happens in the trial? And what does the trial represent for the political community within which it takes place? The subject explores these questions through a range of high profile or exemplary trials in state and commonwealth, national and international, jurisdictions. The key themes addressed through the in-depth study of public trials in this subject are:
After introducing the nature of public trials the subject turns to a consideration of exemplary trials, both contemporary and historical, from various jurisdictions. An indicative sample may include the following famous trials.
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| Crime and Public Policy · 12.5 pts |
Many criminology graduates find themselves researching, developing, and applying crime and justice policy in government, political, and other contexts. This subject helps prepare students for such work through exploration of the interplay between criminology and public policy. As well as providing an overview of factors shaping policy in Australia and other countries, it reviews challenges associated with making criminological, sociological, and philosophical theory relevant in practical contexts. The subject explores the implications, challenges and opportunities for policy change and considers the systems and processes that determine what is considered deserving of state intervention as either public policy or criminalisation. Emphasis is placed on critically exploring contemporary public policy concerns such as those related to climate change, abolition, immigration, social security and policing. |
| Global Criminology · 12.5 pts |
Global Criminology examines globalised forms of mass harm from both historical and contemporary perspectives. It focuses on harms that have typically gone below the criminological radar. The subject will ask students to think about the problem of crime outside the traditional parameters of criminological study. Linking past and present, it examines the longer histories, impacts and contexts of harms such as conflicts, colonialism, genocide and slavery. Case studies analysed may include the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the former Yugoslavia, Apartheid in South Africa, settler colonialism in Australia, and chattel slavery in the Americas amongst many others. Connecting decolonial theory and interdisciplinary inquiry, the subject explores crimes that cross national borders, crimes committed by nation states and international responses to them. |
| Gender and Crime · 12.5 pts |
Virtually all aspects of crime and criminal justice are gendered. For instance, patterns of both offending and victimization follow heavily gendered patterns, while the criminal justice system is itself a traditionally ‘masculine’ institution. Likewise, both offending and victimization are implicated in the performance of gender identity. In this subject, students will be invited to critically interrogate ways in which gender shapes experiences of crime, victimisation and the operation of the criminal justice system, drawing on contemporary theory, research and applied case studies. This subject will also support students in developing the skills to communicate key theories, concepts, research and debates on gender and crime to a range of different audiences, utilising diverse mediums. |
| Cultures of Law · 12.5 pts |
Cultures of Law begin with a focus on the early themes and concepts that laid down the anthropological foundations and understandings of law and social order. Through an ethnographic approach, it will examine; (a) how social practices in different cultures shape one’s understandings of laws and customs; (b) the different legal sensibilities across societies; (c) the constitution of customary laws and colonialism in different societies; (d) colonialism and the emergence of new definitions of law and order. Focusing particularly on former colonies in non-western societies, students will explore themes of customary law, kinship networks, processes of arbitration in customary courts (in Asia and Africa), and the connection between colonialism and legal systems in the global south. The core readings will consist of anthropological texts about processes of arbitration, judgment, law and customs, and judicial processes to focus on interpretation of rights, justice, and definitions of law and order in the contemporary world. |