This module aims to equip students with a robust understanding of theoretical explanations of why we punish and the way that punishment is actualised in society ¿ both within the criminal justice system and outside of it. The module examines contemporary approaches to the punishment of crime and `deviance¿, taking account of the history and philosophy of responses to offending and `deviant¿ behaviour, especially within prisons. It considers the purpose of and justification for a range of different forms of punishment in modern society, including the death penalty; incarceration; community orders; and civil injunctions. It also considers prisoner and prison officer experiences in the penal estate and how this has been influenced by the penal crisis. This module critically explores the treatment of different types of offenders, paying particular attention to disadvantaged/marginalised social groups.
ASC226
Penology and Punishment
This module aims to equip students with a robust understanding of theoretical explanations of why we punish and the way that punishment is actualised within the penal estate. The module examines contemporary approaches to the punishment of crime, taking account of the history and philosophy of criminal justice responses to offending behaviour, especially within prisons. It also considers prisoner and prison officer experiences in the penal estate and how this has been influenced by the penal crisis. This module critically explores the treatment of different types of offenders, paying particular attention to disadvantaged/marginalised social groups.
ASC324
Dissertation
This module will equip students with the skills needed to produce a dissertation of between 8,000 and 10,000 words. A series of 3 compulsory meetings with an allocated dissertation supervisors assists the students to complete this task. The completion of a dissertation is an independent learning activity. This means that there isn¿t a taught aspect to it. However, each student will be allocated a supervisor. Supervision meetings will take the form of four compulsory individual face-to-face meetings between the student and supervisor. Supervisors will also review drafts of elements of the dissertation to a maximum of 4,000 words, which are to be submitted to supervisors at specific points in the academic year. Supervisors will only provide feedback on drafts that are submitted on time. Staff will provide feedback to students within seven working days.
ASC326
Homicide: Criminalising Death and Dying
`Homicide: Criminalising Death and Dying¿ offers a critical exploration of homicide through a criminological lens. It assesses the cultural and legal parameters of killing by considering what constitutes homicide in contrasting contexts. The module focuses on a variety of forms of homicide, from politically motivated assassinations to corporate neglect and manslaughter. The spatial and temporal dynamics of homicide are examined with reference to debates on abortion and euthanasia. Collectively the lectures enable students to develop a comprehensive knowledge and theoretical understanding of homicide. The module explores homicide as a distinct criminological topic, whilst examining its relationship with criminology and criminal justice more broadly.
ASC333
Critical Criminology of Sports and Leisure
The module reimagines sport as an important critical criminological field that can help us better understand how discourses and practices of crime and justice produce and reinforce social inequalities. The intersections of sport and crime have received much attention from scholars working predominantly in the areas of law and legal studies. For the most part, this body of research has documented cases of corruption, cheating, and illegal behavior that occurs away from the arena and in contexts that fall outside of the direct purview of sport. Criminologists add to this field by considering how crime, deviance, and punishment in the sporting world produce and reproduce social inequalities.
This course investigates the myriad ways that ideas, representations, and messages about crime, violence, and punishment in sport mirror broader relations of power that exist outside of sport. Covering a broad range of legal, cultural and social issues such as corruption, cheating, drug-use, doping, violence, and power we consider the role of critical criminology in addressing some of the crimes and harms associated with sport and leisure.