Criminology is a discipline that examines 'crime' and 'deviance', and the processes through which the criminal justice system responds to these phenomena. Criminology also considers how certain behaviours come to be defined as criminal or deviant in the first place, and how definitions of a 'crime' and 'criminal' differ significantly across time and space.
Studying Criminology at Salford will provide you with a sound understanding of the key conceptual and substantive issues involved in the study of crime and criminal justice.
This course will develop your critical awareness skills, and introduce you to the nature and scope of criminological research. You will also be able to connect to key institutions and criminal justice practitioners.
This degree is designed to acquaint you with the general theories, typical methods and key studies of criminology [especially sociological criminology] and to indicate their application to issues in contemporary societies. It uses the modular system to deliver an innovative curriculum, with a wide range of optional subjects, which serves the local community, is linked to research of international and national quality, and is responsive to your interests and needs.
This degree draws upon the existing provision within Criminology at Salford, using the diverse work in the School on the major role played by crime, deviance, justice, law, regulation, surveillance and punishment in the construction, maintenance and disturbance of the social order at all levels. Our aim is to provide a deep criminological insight into the nature of crime and justice.
Year 1
In your first year, all modules are compulsory. Here you will examine key criminological issues and institutions and some of the key sociological underpinnings to Criminology. We will also equip you with study skills and introduce you to the nature and scope of social research.
Criminal Justice and Human Rights
You will be introduced to the form, key features and purpose of the institutions of the contemporary criminal justice system in England and Wales and begin an exploration of the issues relating to justice and civil liberties.
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Crime and society
You will be introduced to the key foundational issues, ideas, and ways of thinking within criminology. You will explore the various relationships between crime and society drawing upon contemporary, historical and comparative evidence and demonstrate links between particular theories and concepts and their implications for research methodology and crime policy.
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Riots, Resistance and Revolutions
The module will develop your understanding of the nature of collective action, conflict and struggle. You will explore the specificities of collective action and subjectivity involved in riots and other forms of resistance, and identify and debate institutional responses to them. You will identify the fundamental forces and factors behind revolutions and examine the novelty of social, political and cultural resistance.
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Social divisions and inequality
You will be introduced to social scientific concepts and theories about the nature of social divisions, diversity and social inequality in advanced industrial societies. You will develop an understanding of evidence about major forms of social division and their causes and social consequences and compare alternative explanations of complexity and differentiation in contemporary society.
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Culture, Power and Identity
You will become familiar with sociological approaches to the understanding of culture, and the relationship between culture, power and identity. You will examine the social and cultural construction of identity and consider the formation of collective and individual identity, as forces of control and opportunity
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Thinking Sociologically
You will develop knowledge of the major forms of sociological reasoning and the ability to think sociologically about the major problems and issues in society and social life. You will gain an understanding of key concepts in sociology and of the contribution of sociological inquiry to explaining social dynamics.
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Year 2
In your second year you will build on these foundations by looking in more detail at different theoretical perspectives in criminology and studying research problems and methods. You will also have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of selected topics by choosing three optional modules (from the indicative list below).
Theoretical criminology
You will develop an understanding of the range of theories of crime and criminal justice and locate the key issues of criminology within their socio-political and historical context. You will gain a knowledge of the most important theories, and their relevance for understanding crime matters in contemporary society.
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Research Problems and Methods 1
You will develop an understanding of competing methodological approaches to social research. The focus throughout this module will be on learning and experiencing applied methods to address “real world” research social problems. You will gain a working knowledge, and practical experience of, alternative methods of collecting, reporting and presenting qualitative data.
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Research Problems and Methods 2
You will gain an understanding of the survey research process, including forming a suitable research question, operationalisation, and types of sampling strategy. You will gain knowledge of key concepts in quantitative research, including statistical significance and probability and practical experience of alternative methods of analysing qualitative data.
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Criminology Options:
Media, Crime and Justice
You will gain an understanding of the relationship between news and popular media, crime, criminal justice, and cultural, social and political justice more broadly. You will focus on four key areas: media influence and effects; news media reporting of crime and criminal justice; fictional representation of crime and criminal justice; and new media and new forms of crime and justice.
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Forensic and Social Constructions of Guilt
You will analyse the sociological and socio-legal dimensions to the construction of guilt and develop a critical analysis of the key debates surrounding the use of forensic evidence in the detection of crime and in relation to expert evidence in the courtroom. You will assess the problematic nature of “facts” and “truth” in constructions of guilt and use selected high profile criminal cases as case studies.
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Intersectionality and Crime
You will gain an understanding of the construction of deviant labels based on variables of ethnicity, gender and youth, and the relationship between these labels and crime. You will engage with issues surrounding experiences of crime and encounters with the criminal justice system. You will also compare crime policies on a national and international scale and look at a number of historical and contemporary case-studies.
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Policing and Social Control
You will be introduced to issues surrounding the policing and social control in the past, in contemporary society and in the future, and analyse how social control and surveillance are manifested. You will identify the implications for policing and social control studies on wider sociology as well as policy and practice.
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Prisons and Punishment
You will develop an understanding of the evolution of the modern prison and of the relationship between prisons, probation, the courts and the media and the economic and social environment in which they operate. You will gain an understanding of the impacts of punishment with regard to age, gender and ethnicity and consider criminal justice institutions, policies, and practices in their contexts.
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Terror, Trials and Truth Commissions
You will critically analyse state violence and transitional justice and prominent examples of them. You will appraise the meanings of “terror,” “truth” and “justice” and assess the results of transitional justice mechanisms.
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Becoming a Victim
You will develop an understanding of how and why people become victims and of the relationship between victimisation and social and cultural variables. You will critically explore the place of the victim in the criminal justice system, and how they are processed.
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Violence in Society
An overview of the conceptualisation of “violence”. You will examine debates concerning violence in various aspects of life, consider the contemporary debates surrounding violence in a range of contexts, trace the development of theorisations of violence and consider ethical, methodological and practical issues involved in the researching of violence.
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Sociology/Language Options
Bodies: Biology to Blushing
This module aims to denaturalise your understanding of the body and promote a sociological conception of both biology and human emotion. You will become familiar with sociologically thinking about the body, including the gendering and racialisation of bodies and you will explore the impact of modern genetics and other technological advancements on contemporary social life.
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Connected Lives
You will be introduced to different forms of social connections, from gemenschaft to gesellschaft, and explore the meanings, practices and roles of family, friendship, kinship, and community within the context of capitals, localities, and policy debates.
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Identities and Interactions
You will gain an understanding of the features of interactionist sociology and recognise how interactionist sociology differs from other ways of studying the social world. You will look at the ways in which theoretical approaches can be applied in areas such as socialisation and education, work and employment, and health and illness, and gain an understanding of the problems and opportunities of ‘working in a tradition’.
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Modernity: Cities and States
You will gain an understanding of the major perspectives on modernity, the modern state and modern metropolis, and consider the major perspectives on modernity and its disputed meaning, its promises and its dark sides. You will consider theoretical approaches to the modern state and politics, and examine modern political ideologies. You will also explore the modern/postmodern city and life in modern metropolis, and analyse utopian and dystopian visions of the urban 'site’.
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Popular Culture and the Media
It is the aim of this module is to you with an understanding of the role and location of popular culture, consumption, leisure and media and within contemporary society. You will consider the historical processes, theoretical and political debates, underlying and informing the nature of these practices, institutions and texts, as well as our understandings of these.
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Risk Society
You will examine recent and contemporary social science debates and evidence about the modern preoccupation with ‘risk’ in society. You will address questions about social constructionist and realist accounts of risk, the emergence and impact of regulatory processes to ‘manage’ risk, and their manifestation at individual and institutional levels.
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Utopias and Dystopias
You will be introduced to the concepts of utopia and dystopia and key debates on these topics. You will gain an understanding of the complex relationship between the material world and utopian projections, and develop a critical approach to a variety of texts which seek to represent various utopias and dystopias.
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Visual Representation
This module examines a variety of themes and issues – practical, substantive, theoretical, methodological, textual and ethical- about the use of visual materials to account for social phenomena. You will address these matters through a range of work in sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.
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Foreign Language (offered by UWLP)
You have the option to study a foreign language through the UWLP, which is practical in content and available at four levels (stages): Stage 1 (complete beginner), Stage 2 (Grade A*-C at GCSE), Stage 3 (Grade C or below at AS level), Stage 4 (Grade D or below at A2 level). The lower stages help you cope with everyday situations abroad or when dealing with visitors to this country, and the higher stages enable you to use the language in more professional contexts.
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Year 3
In your third year you will take two compulsory modules, which includes an Independent Study module. You will also be able to choose three optional modules (from the indicative list below).
The Criminal Justice Process
You will gain an overview of the philosophy, nature, significance, outcomes and consequences of the criminal justice process and explore how it functions. You will think critically about key aspects of the criminal justice process and examine the interaction between different actors and agencies involved, and between the criminal justice process and politics, the community and the media.
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Independent Study (one of the following):
Extended Essays
You will develop an area of interest through TWO pieces of extended Sociological or Criminological prose, without having to meet the demands of research-based activity associated with the Dissertation., examining topics of your choice.
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Dissertation
You will examine a Sociological or Criminological topic of your choice in an independent piece of research, exploring an area of your own academic, professional or personal interest.
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Work: Practice and Reflection
You will engage in work based learning, making practical and conceptual connections between the academic study of sociology and criminology and work based activities. You will demonstrate an understanding of the importance of critical reflection.
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