The Common Session is part of the Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology. The Programme was initially developed to provide a common instructional framework in Criminal Justice and Criminology among several European Universities. Since that time the Programme has steadily developed into the premiere scholarly forum for the study of critical criminology. Universities participating in the Common Study Programme host semi-annual conferences, termed ‘Common Sessions’, on a revolving schedule. The Common Sessions provide both the Faculty and Student participants an opportunity to exchange ideas and deliver papers on many of the topics and concerns that fall under the umbrella term — Critical Criminology.
This year’s first Common Session took place in Porto (Portugal). Approximately 150 students and staff members from the eleven member universities attended the conference. The above video was filmed and edited by two students from Hamburg (Georgie Pierenkemper and Rebecca Houghton) and provides a nice insight of what the Common Sessions are like. The film features many students from the participating universities and the following staff members (in order of appearance):
- Rita Faria (University of Porto)
- Damián Zaitch (Utrecht University)
- Phil Carney (University of Kent)
- Keith Hayward (University of Kent)
- David Brotherton (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York)
- David Porteous (Middlesex University)
- Rene van Swaaningen (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
The next Common Session will take place in Budapest in autumn 2012. For further information please check the official website: Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology.