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Crime and Society

Overview

  • Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
  • Convenor: Tanya Serisier
  • Assessment: a 1000-word workbook (30%) and 2000-word essay (70%)

Module description

In this module we introduce you to sociological approaches to crime and criminal justice. We consider:

  • the social context of crime
  • the relationship of crime to social categories like race, class and gender
  • contemporary debates about crime and social harm.

We also provide an overview of a wide range of sociological theories and perspectives that seek to make sense of the 'why' and 'how' of crime.

This module provides you with a sociological foundation for studying crime and justice, in an analytical, theoretical and critical manner, and enables you to develop the skills to explain crime and punishment in modern societies.

Indicative syllabus

  • Key sociological contributions to criminology I and II
  • How do sociologists research crime and criminal justice?
  • Social class, crime and property
  • Crime, sexuality and gender
  • Crime, race and ethnicity
  • Colonial roots of criminology and criminal justice
  • Crime, harm and late modernity
  • Zemiology, green criminology and social harm
  • Debating abolition (radical and realist perspectives)

Learning objectives

By the end of this module you should be able to:

  • understand the complexities involved in defining crime and criminal justice
  • understand the relationship between inequality, exclusion and crime, and how different social groups are affected by victimisation and offending
  • apply critical-thinking skills to interrogate ‘common sense’ views of crime and criminology
  • identify key contributions that sociological thought has made to the study of crime and criminal justice, both theoretically and methodologically
  • undertake independent research and essay writing, including identifying academic arguments
  • identify and apply key skills necessary to access relevant literature, and other sources necessary for criminological analysis and evaluation
  • appreciate the importance of group discussions and interaction when developing a sociological imagination concerning crime and criminal justice.