Studying at York
Understanding Contemporary Crime - SOC00059I
- Department: Sociology
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
- See module specification for other years: 2024-25
Module summary
This module employs an international focus to critically engage with crime and social responses to crime in media and public discourses. You will have the opportunity to undertake an analysis of specific globally significant incidents or events exploring their cultural and social context and societal reactions.
Related modules
By drawing upon concepts covered in the year one module ‘Explaining Crime & Deviance’ this module applies these criminological theories and concepts to further explore how key incidents and the subsequent societal and media reaction to them over time is constructed and represented.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
How do we, as criminologists, make sense of contemporary and emerging issues of crime, control and deviance? In this module we will adopt an international focus to critically engage with crime and social responses to crime in media and public discourses. You will have the opportunity to undertake an analysis of specific globally significant incidents or events exploring their cultural and social context and societal reactions. By drawing upon concepts covered in the year one module ‘Explaining Crime & Deviance’ this module applies these criminological theories and concepts to further explore how key incidents and the subsequent societal and media reaction to them over time is constructed and represented.
Module learning outcomes
Apply criminological theory and concepts to international contemporary and emerging issues of crime, control and deviance
Critically engage with crime and social responses to crime and deviance in media and public discourses
Communicate your ideas and arguments in diverse written formats
Articulate how societal and media reactions to issues of crime and deviance is constructed and represented
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 60 |
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 60 |
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
Module feedback
For formative work - marking a poster- students will receive written or verbal feedback on how to improve their skills in areas that will contribute towards their summative assessment. Both formative assessments provide practice for the summative tasks which are in line with LO 1-4 particularly 3.
For summative work - poster and essay - students will receive an overall mark and grading according to clearly defined criteria for assessing their knowledge, skills and abilities in line with 1-4. They will also receive written feedback showing areas in which they have done well and those areas in which they need to improve that will contribute to their progress.
Indicative reading
Downes, D. and Rock, P. (2007) Understanding Deviance, (5th ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lilly, J.R., Cullen, F.T., and Ball, R.A. (2011) Criminological Theory, (4th ed.) London: Sage.
Maguire, M. Morgan, R. and Reiner, R. (eds.) (2007) Oxford Handbook of Criminology, (4th ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tierney, J. (2006) Criminology, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Williams, K.S. (2008) Textbook in Criminology, (6th ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.