2009 Course Handbook
SOC236: Crime and Society
This course offers students an opportunity to examine social relationships that underpin definitions of crime, criminal behaviour and policy of crime and give insight into the burgeoning discipline of Criminology within the Social Sciences. It provides opportunities to examine conventional wisdoms about crime and develop frameworks for understanding crime and policy responses. It draws on key developments in sociological theory, with a dynamic focus on issues of the role and purpose of the law in contemporary society.
Particular attention will be paid to the definition of crime and criminal justice (Block 1), the form and function of law as well as the measurement and regulation of crime and the purpose and aims of criminal justice (Block 2) as well as thematic study of race, gender, and class (Block 3). Issues that will be covered include questions of how crime is defined and measured, criminal responsibility and victimisation, the form and function of law in democratic society, gender based violence, hate crimes, and crimes of the powerful as well as an introduction into debates surrounding terrorism and security. Students will be encouraged to re-examine the socially constructed nature of crime and question the purpose of law and the role it plays in maintaining, or disrupting, established notions of freedom, fairness and social order.
| Credit Points: | 4 |
| Contact Hours: | 3 |
| When Offered: | D2 - Day; Offered in the second half-year |
| Staff Contact: | Dr Peter Rogers |
| Prerequisites: | 12cp |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCWs: | SOC371 |
| Unit Designations: | -- |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: |
Department of Sociology |
Timetable Information
For unit timetable information please visit the Timetables@Macquarie Website.