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Unit information: Key Thinkers in Criminology in 2022/23

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

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
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department School for Policy Studies
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

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 relevant to the discipline.

Your learning on this unit

By successfully completing the unit students will be able to:

  1. Critically analyse the key contributions made by individual theorists to the discipline of criminology
  2. Apply criminological theory to cultural representations of crime and deviance
  3. Synthesise and critically compare different theoretical perspectives on crime and the criminal justice system
  4. Appraise and assess the impact of this theoretical work upon subsequent criminological agendas, policy intervention, and activism

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a weekly two-hour lecture and one-hour seminar.

How you will be assessed

Part 1: Critical review (1000 words) (30%)

Assesses learning outcome: 2

Part 2: Essay (2000 words) (70%)

Assesses learning outcomes: 1,3 and 4

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.

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