Unit information: Key Thinkers in Criminology in 2021/22

Unit name	Key Thinkers in Criminology
Unit code	SPOL20036
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Kirwan
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to extend students' knowledge and understanding of criminological theory and debate by charting the work of key thinkers within the discipline. The unit will identify prominent and influential thinkers and follow the trajectory of their work, locating their writings in the social, economic and political period of the time, and assessing their impact on the discipline and on policy and practice (where relevant). Students will gain a detailed understanding of distinct theoretical frameworks and be able to situate these within conflicting and related bodies of ideas. The unit will include the contributions of key scholars such as Stanley Cohen, Jock Young, Stuart Hall, Michel Foucault, Pat Carlen, Liz Kelly, Angela Davis, David Garland, Jonathan Simon, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Lucia Zedner and Paddy Hillyard.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing the unit students will be able:

• critically reflect on the key contributions made by individual theorists to the discipline
• understand the key influences on the ideas of these individuals
• assess the key impact of their work in terms of subsequent theorising and influence of criminological agendas
• reflect on their contributions to affecting change through policy intervention, practice and activism where relevant

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through blended learning involving a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions. Lectures will be run as three weekly videos (only one of which will be a narrated powerpoint, covering key conceptual/theoretical points) interspersed with interactive online activities and other tasks to be carried out by students. Synchronous study group sessions will be supplemented by reading-groups

Assessment Information

Summative assessment:

Part 1: Critical review (1000 words) (30%) Part 2: Essay (2000 words) (70%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SPOL20036).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.