Criminology and Sociology

This module will explore contemporary global challenges and complexities in crime and society. Each week, the module will spotlight a distinct social issue, aiming to enhance awareness and provide students with the tools to comprehend, critically assess, and address responses at the local, national, international, and global levels. The focus extends to understanding how these responses generate new challenges. Furthermore, students will develop the ability to analyse and approach these issues drawing from various perspectives within the social sciences. Emphasis will be placed on cultivating a critical mindset, utilising theory and research to deepen comprehension. The module will prioritise workplace skills such as teamwork, project planning, and research capabilities. It will assess the significance of knowledge in a functioning society and equip students with academic skills essential for progressing in their degree. A key aspect of this module involves fostering cohort identity through discipline-specific seminar groups and collaborative group work. 

This module will utilise a blend of lectures, seminars, and practical workshops. Lectures will be delivered to the entire module cohort, followed by seminars conducted in subject-specific groups to foster cohort identity. The primary focus will be on enabling students to cultivate essential social science competencies and skills through both independent study and collaborative group activities. 

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.

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. 

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.

This model explores a wide range of social justice issues such as racial injustice, poverty, gender inequality, ageism, LGBTIQ+ rights, migration, care, disability rights, crime and climate change. We will be looking at these issues on a local level and explore what is done in Greater Manchester to address them. For that purpose, we will look at what actions local authorities, statutory organisations, third-sector organisations and campaigning groups take to respond to social justice issues locally. A focus will be on the importance of advocacy and activism in challenging disadvantage and inequality and raising awareness of local issues.

Students will be encouraged to apply knowledge and study skills acquired in semester 1 (critical thinking, application of theory, research skills, group work, project planning) to assess awareness-raising campaigns and propose a campaign of change.  

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.

The module introduces fundamental questions in criminology: What is crime? What causes crime? How does crime and criminal justice affect us? How should we best respond to criminal behaviour? In addressing these questions, key concepts will be explored. You will have the opportunity to choose a particular type of crime or deviance, then apply the various fundamental questions raised by the module week by week. The case studies will help you to apply concepts to contemporary issues. You will have the opportunity to consider different policy and practice solutions for criminal justice ‘industry’.

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.

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.

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.

You will develop an understanding of the key schools of thought in sociological inquiry and evaluate the contribution of sociological inquiry to social life. You will analyse the relationships between individuals and their social settings and groups, and critically compare different sociological approaches and their implications for understanding the dynamics of social structures.

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. 

This module offers students an opportunity to develop and apply knowledge on victimology, including causes, processing and responses to victimisation at individual, community and criminal justice levels. The criminological approaches (including theory) and (national and international) policy responses to victims and their needs are examined from a critical criminological approach. 

We live in a globally responsible world where decisions taken at a local level inevitably have a global impact. Addressing issues of environmental concern through a lens of social justice, this module invites you to think critically about the most pressing issue of our life – the Climate Crisis and you will examine this through both a Sociological and Criminological lens, emphasising the ‘Local to Global’ policy-making across subjects as interconnected as, climate change and activism, environmental ideology and Eco-Fascism, human rights, and the rural/urban divide. During this module, you will become equipped with the knowledge, skills, and tools to analyse the complex interactions between environmental and social systems, and to advocate for a more sustainable and equitable future. 

Assessment will consist of the following:

- Individual Podcast interview (100%)

This module addresses the complex and often paradoxical relationships between human rights, extreme human rights abuses, particularly genocide, and resistance to such abuses. Its distinctiveness lies in providing students with interdisciplinary, theoretically informed approaches to human rights, genocide and resistance.

On this module you will critically engage with ideas concerning social and cultural issues associated with risk and security regarding the uses of the internet.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Terrorism has become the issue of our times and it has been at the heart of a reordering of society and the world at large. Key to this reordering has been the notion of ‘new terrorism’: that post 9/11 terrorism is of a ‘new’ form. This module provides students with a systematic understanding of terrorism and counterterrorism in the twenty first century. It interrogates the ‘new terrorism’ thesis, charts the development & expansion of counterterrorism with ‘soft-power’ techniques, and analyses UK counter-terrorism policing practice and policy. Finally, the module analyses the way in which UK counterterrorism has influenced and shaped national security policies across the world.  

Assessment will consist of either of the following:

- 3,500 word essay
- Oral presentation

On this module you will learn about the many ways society is being transformed by digital technologies such as social media platforms and mobile apps, including how we work, how we communicate, and how we form relationships. You will discuss key ethical issues such as mass surveillance, cybercrime and ‘digital poverty’ and learn from organisations working to address these issues.

This module offers a broad introduction to the gendered dimensions of crime/criminality, criminal victimisation, criminal justice, and penology, and of the gendered theorising which attempts to account for this. It looks at the significance of gender to our understandings of and responses to crime and deviant behaviour.

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’.

This module explores the complex interconnections within the field of migration studies and human rights, as related to various identities, i.e. gender, sexuality, religion, race and ethnicity. Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical approaches and critically examine the socio-legal frameworks, policies, and ethical dilemmas surrounding the rights of migrants, refugees, and displaced communities. By employing an intersectional and multi-layered analytical approach, students will gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of various social identities and their impact on the migration process. Here, we will focus on particular case studies such as children and young people, women and queer migrants, and their experiences in hostile migration environments (such as the UK and EU).

When exploring case studies and contemporary issues relating to migration, links will be made to historical contexts and processes of racialisation that shape discourses of migration. The lecturers will draw on their own experiences and research, and there will be guest lectures by other experts by experience. A mixed teaching approach will be used, with lectures, workshops and tutorials all delivered interactively.

Students will be introduced to and encouraged to access and use a range of sources, including: - academic texts, journal articles, web sites, policy documents/legislation, research findings, literature from pressure groups, media sources.  

Assessment will consist of any of the following:

- Portfolio (100%)
- 3,500 word essay (100%)
- Individual pre-recorded presentation (alternative assessment) - 20min (100%)

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. 

You will gain an understanding of rehabilitation and personal change, developing a critical appreciation of how dominant theoretical approaches underpin professional practice in criminal justice. You will consider the development of probation services and related interventions (including substance misuse) in their historical, cultural, political and conceptual contexts and develop an understanding of the relationship between rehabilitation and diversity. You will be encouraged to take a critical, reflexive approach and consider the purposes and challenges of delivering rehabilitation in the penal system, substance misuse services and related industry.

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.