Description
This module will explore key concepts regarding crime and punishment with a focus on punishment. This includes how it is understood and represented in society both historically and in contemporary society and the impact of different understandings of crime and punishment.
Aims
The aim of this Module is to provide the student with an introduction to key ideas and explanations about crime and punishment; an understanding of how crime and deviance are measured and understood; a consideration of who is defined as criminal and who is not; and the representations and use of punishment in society.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
- Outline definitions of crime, deviance and punishment through flexible collaboration and visual representations of key concepts and perspectives in historical context.
- Explore and problematize the dominant ideas about, and representations of, crime and criminality including those of the more and less powerful groups and individuals.
- Identify and visualise key issues related to gender, class, ethnicity and childhood associated with crime and punishment.
Indicative Content
1 The meaning of crime, deviance and punishment.
What do we mean by crime, deviance and punishment? How and why do different societies define certain behaviours as criminal whilst others do not? External and internal social control; the problem of social order; conformity and deviance.
2 Crimes of the Powerful
Exploring and uncovering the implications of dominant constructions of criminality. What crimes exist that we know very little about? Why might that be? Includes engagement with crimes of the powerful including state corporate crime.
3 Punishment
In order to highlight the centrality of punishment in the criminal justice system, the meaning and use of punishment will be explored. Why do we punish people? What do we hope to achieve by punishing people? Is punishment a deterrent? Why did types of punishment shift and changed from punitive to more 'civilised' approaches? Why is the idea of shaming offenders an important aspect of punishment both historical and in the 21st century?
| Teaching and Learning Method | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 24 |
| Tutorial/Seminar | 12 |
| Supervised Practical Activity | 0 |
| Unsupervised Practical Activity | 4 |
| Assessment | 30 |
| Independent | 130 |
Guidance Notes
SCQF Level - The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.
Credit Value – The total value of SCQF credits for the module. 20 credits are the equivalent of 10 ECTS credits. A full-time student should normally register for 60 SCQF credits per semester.
Disclaimer
We make every effort to ensure that the information on our website is accurate but it is possible that some changes may occur prior to the academic year of entry. The modules listed in this catalogue are offered subject to availability during academic year 2025/6, and may be subject to change for future years.