71880 - Crime, Punishment and Society

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course unit, students: - know the most important concepts of sociology as applied nowadays with reference to criminal phenomena and their punishment, with an emphasis on the evolutionary dimension of relevant theories and the comparison between European and North American approaches; - are capable to apply those concepts independently, especially in fields covering deviance and social control.

Course contents

Why do people commit crime? Why and how do we punish offenders? This course addresses all these fundamental questions through engaging with core criminological and sociological theories and debates on crime and its responses. 

Readings/Bibliography

Carrabine E, Cox A, Cox P, Crowhurst I, Di Ronco A, Fussey P, Sergi A, South N, Thiel D, and Turton J. (2020), Criminology: A Sociological Introduction, 4th ed., London, Routledge. Chapters: 4-9, and 12-13.

Other readings will be assigned during the course and will available on “Virtuale” or through the library.

Teaching methods

Lectures, class discussions, movies, guest speakers

Assessment methods

Oral exam

 

Students attending the course can reduce the course's programme subject to the final oral examination through coursework - i.e., by engaging in an individual or group presentation delivered in class. In such presentations, students would need to start from representations of crime or punishment as reflected in, for example, films, TV programmes, or press news, and link them to one or more relevant criminological or sociological perspectives addressed in the course. Detailed instructions on this mode of assessment will be given during the course.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations, audio-visual materials 

Office hours

See the website of Anna Di Ronco