LW1CRM-Introduction to Criminology

Module Provider: School of Law
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Professor Jo Phoenix
Email: j.b.m.phoenix@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

Criminology is made up of the study of crime, justice, punishment and social harm. This module provides students with an introduction to the discipline of criminology as well as an overview of the key concepts and main theoretical perspectives that comprise criminology. The main questions that the module addresses are:

• What is criminology? What counts as research in criminology?


• What is crime?


• What are the reactions to crime?


• What are the main theoretical perspectives of criminology?

Aims:

• To stimulate students’ interest in, and enthusiasm for, criminology


• To introduce students to the range of subjects that can be covered within criminology and the ways that criminologists approach the study of crime and deviance


• To introduce students to research in criminology

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Outline and explain key concepts in the study of crime (crime, harm, criminalisation and victimisation)


• Describe and evaluate competing definitions of ‘crime’


• Describe and evaluate the challenges of doing research on or measuring crime


• Describe and evaluate competing explanations of ‘crime’

Additional outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Lead a seminar discussion


• Participate in class discussions


• Read a criminological study


• Write a book review


• Understand the difference between public discourse on crime and criminological research and knowledge

Outline content:

Construction and deconstruction of official criminal statistics, differences between academic and non-academic criminological theories, key concepts in criminology, realist criminology, critical and conflict criminology, biological explanations for crime, cultural criminology.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The module will be taught by a combination of weekly two-hour long lectures and fortnightly 1 hour tutorials. Lectures will introduce students to the basic concepts and map out the contours of the module. The lecture series will be divided into three parts: deconstructing official statistics, reading criminological theory and the foundations of criminological theory. Seminar series will be divided into two parts: the first seminars will explore in more detail the themes and issues of the lect ures and will be a forum in which students read four classic texts, discuss the content, the arguments and the methodological issues. The latter seminars will provide students with an opportunity to consolidate their understanding of the main perspectives and conceptual language of criminology.