Introductory description

Crime and Society seeks to introduce students to criminology and aims to provide a comprehensive and critical understanding of the relationship between crime and its social context. It explores current issues and recent transformations in the socio- political, global context of crime and justice and it aims to prepare students to explore crime, victimisation and punishment through conceptual categories such as class, gender, ethnicity, mobility and space. Students taking this module will develop the necessary analytical, theoretical and critical skills to examine contemporary problems and debates in the fields of criminalisation and justice and will actively engage with empirical research and policy material in this field.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Part 1: The Social Context of Crime:

1. Introduction to the module: understanding the social context of crime and
   the concepts of crime and social harm
2. Measuring Crime and Victimisation: Social Constructions, criminological
   research and critiquing crime data
3. Public Perceptions of Crime, Media and the Politics of Crime
   Part 2: Key sociological concepts relevant in understanding crime
4. SOCIAL CLASS: Critical Criminology and explaining Property Crime and White
   Collar Crime
5. ‘RACE’: Ethnicity, Racism and Crime
6. GENDER: Women and Crime, Gendered Victimisation and Feminist
   Criminology
7. GLOBALISATION and MOBILITY: Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Migration and Border Criminologies Part 3: Responding to crime: Problematizing the criminal justice system 8. Crime and its Control: Policing and Punishment & Imprisonment 9. Overview and Alternatives to Incarceration

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Main learning outcomes: • The development of an understanding of the problematic nature of popular representations of crime;
• An appreciation of the insights that sociological thought brings to the study of crime, deviance, victimisation and criminal justice;
• An ability to place the research on the sociology of crime and criminal justice policies and institutional practices in their historical, ethical, social, political, cultural and economic context;
• Critical awareness of the limitations of legal definitions of crime by exploring alternative approaches, such as social constructivism and social harm;
• An understanding of why certain behaviours are criminalised at particular times and places;
• Appreciation of how issues of race, class, location and gender affect processes of criminalisation;
• Active engagement with contemporary issues and debates within the fields of sociology and criminology in a global context;
• How to analyse issues from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, taking into account social, political and theoretical arguments in the field of criminalisation;
• How to conduct effective research using both primary sources and secondary materials, including the use of empirical analyses of crime and punishment;
• Development of skills in accessing and evaluating relevant literature for independent study, research and essay writing.

Indicative reading list

Background Reading

1. Becker, H. S. (1963) Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. London: Free Press.
2. Bowling, B. and Phillips, C. (2002) Racism, Crime and Justice. Harlow: Pearson Education.
3. Box, S. (1983) Power, Crime and Mystification, London: Travistock.
4. Foucault, M. (1975) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, New York: Vintage
   Books.
5. Garland, D. (2001) The Culture of Control. Oxford: OUP.
6. Hillyard, P., Pantazis, C., Tombs, S., Gordon, D. and Dorling, D. (2005) Criminal Obsessions:
   Why Harm Matters More Than Crime. London: Crime and Society Foundation.
   http://www.dannydorling.org/wp-content/files/dannydorling_publication_id1047.pdf
   [Accessed 01/02/2016].
7. Maguire, M., Morgan, R. and Reiner, R. eds. (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology.
   5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8. McLaughlin, E. and Muncie, J. eds. (2013) Criminological Perspectives. Essential Readings.
   3rd ed. London: Sage.
9. Newburn, T. ed. (2013) Criminology. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
10. Newburn, T. ed. (2009) Key Readings in Criminology. Cullompton: Willan.
11. Reiner, R. (2007) Law and Order: An Honest Citizens Guide to Crime and Control.
    Cambridge: Polity.
12. Wacquant, L (2004) Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity,
    Duke University Press.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Research element

Students will be required to engage with primary empirical research as part of their reading and classroom learning and will have to employ methodological knowledge skills to interpret criminological data. In addition, students will be invited to write an article review where they have to evaluate research practice, approaches, findings and implications in the field of crime and society.

Interdisciplinary

The module's readings draw mainly from criminology, which in itself is an interdisciplinary subject area. Readings also include legal and policy documents; and research material from the fields of sociology, penology, law, philosophy, politics and psychology.

International

Teaching material will be mostly focused on the Anglo-American context, with comparative examples from other jurisdictions wherever feasible.

Subject specific skills

Knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with the study of crime and justice and an ability to evaluate and interpret these within the context of contemporary sociological study.

An ability to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts in criminology and sociology.

The ability to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems related to criminological study

The ability to communicate the results of criminological study accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments

Transferable skills

Communicating complex arguments and debating
Team work in a learning environment
Independent study skills and research skills
The qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of some personal responsibility