Overview

Weekly lectures will cover the topics:

• Definitions of crime and criminology.
• For what do we use criminological theory?
• The Situational Action Theory of crime
• Early sociological theories of crime I and II: Durkheim and Marx
• Sociological theories of crime III: American approaches from Merton to the labelling theory.
• Developmental criminology.
• Experiences with crime: offenders, the public and victims.
• Theories of crime in the media and of audience responses.
• Neo-Durkheimian theory: social identity and justice.

The lecture is accompanied by workshop groups. Students will be assigned to one of the groups where they will have the opportunity to engage in a discussion on selected topics. Workshops also offer exercises to prepare for the assignments.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -D- to D+ (40-49%) Present spoken and written material clearly, focusing on major points relevant to the question or argument; locate basic sources of information and produce appropriately formatted and referenced work. Show an understanding of some of the main criminological explanations of why crime is committed, and explain some of the main similarities and differences between these theories; demonstrate a basic understanding of the ways in which crime is defined within society; show an awareness of the impact of crime on some members of society; examine media reports of crime; present spoken and written material in a clear manner, focusing on some of the major relevant issues; locate basic sources of information and produce appropriately formatted and referenced work.

-good -B- to B+ (60-69%) Show a good understanding of some of the main criminological explanations of why crime is committed, and explain and evaluate some of the main similarities and differences between these theories; demonstrate a thorough understanding of the ways in which crime is defined within society; show a clear appreciation of the impact of crime on some members of society; examine media reports of crime and comment on the ways in which images of crime are constructed; present spoken and written material in a clear and competent manner, focusing on some of the major relevant issues; locate a wide range of sources of information and produce written work that is properly referenced and presented.

-excellent -A- to A* (70%+) Provide a comprehensive account of some of the main criminological explanations of why crime is committed, and analysed some of the main similarities and differences between these theories; demonstrate a competent understanding of the ways in which crime is defined within society; show a clear appreciation of the impact of crime on society in general and groups such as victims in particular; examine media reports on crime and critically comment on the ways in which images of crime are constructed; make oral and written presentations of relatively complex material in a clear and competent manner, identifying and focusing on some of the major relevant issues; work independently to locate a wide range of sources of information, and produce properly referenced written work that is of a good standard.

-another level-C- to C+ (50-59%) Show a satisfying understanding of some of the main criminological explanations of why crime is committed, and explain and evaluate a sufficient number of the main similarities and differences between these theories; demonstrate a good understanding of the ways in which crime is defined within society; show an appreciation of the impact of crime on some members of society; examine media reports of crime and comment on the ways in which images of crime are constructed; present spoken and written material in a structured and mainly convincing manner, focusing on some of the major relevant issues; locate a good range of sources of information and produce written work that is predominantly referenced and presented in a basically sound manner.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of the foundations of criminological thought.

• Demonstrate the ability to locate, interpret, and critically evaluate (at the beginner level) relevant literature and evidence relating to criminal and deviant behaviour.

• Examine the impact of crime on society, including victims of crime.

• Identify key concepts relating to the criminal behaviour and societal responses to it.

• Show an understanding of the ways in which crime has been defined and constructed in legal, social, political and historical contexts in several countries.