The content of this module enables students to develop understanding of the foundations of the discipline alongside academic and transferable skills relevant to career readiness. The module firstly introduces students to the breadth of criminological scholarship, providing a pathway into the discipline by identifying and exploring key debates and ideas. Students will examine how crime, deviance and harm are constructed, perceived and responded to in society. This content will include key ideas associated with differential treatment and experiences of the criminal justice system for marginalised and under-represented groups in society alongside non-conventional forms of crime and harm, especially those committed by the ‘powerful’. Students will critically consider the array of individuals, agencies and processes integral to the functioning of the criminal justice system alongside theoretical and practical perspectives of punishments. There will also be a theoretical and practical exploration of the interrelationships between crime and harm, victimisation, social problems and their context.

Students will examine the consistencies, contradictions and conflicts which arise across theoretical and philosophical inquiry, as well as among political ideologies. In doing so, students will critically evaluate the influence sociodemographic characteristics and lived experiences hold in the operational objectives, procedures and outcomes of the criminal justice system across different groups. Within this module, there will be a focus upon influences that shape public perceptions, in particular in reference to deviance and the influence of both traditional and contemporary media platforms on societal views, looking in particular at deviance, from crime to inequality, mental health and politics. In doing so, students will acquire meaningful skills which can be influential in their personal and professional lives as proponents of criminal justice reform. Throughout students’ engagement with the academic content, they will develop as an individual and lifelong learner whilst also being part of a learning community. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon how academic skills acquired might transfer over into purposeful and rewarding forms of employment.