Undergraduate Course: Punishment and Society (LAWS10057)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course is a study of punishment as a means of dealing with offenders and as an institutional feature of societies. Part I of the course will analyse current practices and problems in sentencing, prisons, probation, community service, juvenile justice, reparation, etc. and will examine the policy frameworks -- such as rehabilitation and just deserts -- which inform these practices. Part II of the course will discuss how forms of punishment relate to types of society and how punishment changes over time. Sociological and historical studies of punishment are used as a basis for understanding contemporary developments in penal policy. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| The aim of the course is to introduce students to key features of penal systems in Scotland and in England and Wales (and elsewhere, where relevant), and (in the second semester) to different sociological accounts of contemporary penal practices, including those based on theories offering explanations as to the general relationship between punishment and society. By the end of the course, students should be able to: identify the main penal sanctions available in Scotland and in England & Wales; explain the workings of these sanctions and analyse their rationales; summarise research evidence as to these sanctions' effectiveness and effects; describe and summarise the leading sociological theories of punishment; analyse the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of these sociological theories; and apply and assess these theories in relation to particular sanctions, historical trends, or societies.
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Richard Jones
Tel: (0131 6)50 2032
Email: richard.jones@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Heather Haig
Tel: (0131 6)50 2053
Email: Heather.Haig@ed.ac.uk |
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