CRI-10020 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

NONE

Description for 2024/25

This module introduces students to a range of debates about the nature of punishment and its representation in academic research and popular culture. It explores criminological and historical reasons why societies use punishment and why they adopt or change particular forms of punishment. It examines key legal and social questions relating to how states justify and regulate the use of punishment, and the challenges and criticisms faced by contemporary punitive systems.

1) To increase students' knowledge and understanding of a range of debates about the nature of punishment and its representation in popular culture
2) To develop students' appreciation of the variety, form and distribution of criminal sanctions in different cultures and different historical periods, with a critical focus on the effects of colonialism on historical and contemporary modes of punishment
3) To develop students' understanding of the changing nature and scope of punishment
4) To enable students' to appreciate the importance of comparative analysis in investigating punishment

Intended Learning Outcomes

recognise and describe sociological perspectives on punishment: 1
recognise and illustrate the impact of processes of social change on responses to crime: 1
identify different representations of punishment in the media and public discourse: 1
make use of research evidence, other data and some basic criminological theories in developing arguments and making judgements about punishment issues: 1
recognise and describe the relationships between punishment and social divisions based on age, gender, class and ethnicity, and the effects of colonial and decolonial processes on punitive practices: 1

Study hours

12 hour lectures
12 hour seminars
24 hours of directed preparation for lectures and seminars via engagement with online asynchronous activities and information specific to each learning week.
102 hours independent study (including additional self directed preparatory reading and related preparation for lectures and seminars as well as preparation, planning and additional reading and writing the essay).

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment