LW1ICR: Introduction to Criminology

Module code: LW1ICR

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Leandro Franca, email: l.franca@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Criminology is made up of the study of crime, justice, punishment and social harm. This module provides students with an introduction to the discipline of criminology as well as an overview of the key concepts and main theoretical perspectives that comprise criminology. The main questions that the module addresses are:

• What is criminology? What counts as research in criminology?
• What is crime?
• What is criminological theory?
• What are criminology’s main concepts?
• How much crime is there? Who are the victims?
• What is the relationship between crime and victimisation and social inequalities such as class, age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, disability?
• What are the main theoretical perspectives of criminology?

This module aims to:

• stimulate students’ interest in, and enthusiasm for, criminology
• introduce students to the range of subjects that can be covered within criminology and the ways that criminologists approach the study of crime and deviance
• introduce students to major theoretical perspectives, key questions and key concepts in criminology
• introduce students to research in criminology

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Outline and explain key concepts in the study of crime (crime, harm, criminalisation and victimisation)
• Describe and evaluate competing definitions of ‘crime’
• Describe and evaluate the challenges of doing research on or measuring crime
• Describe and evaluate competing explanations of ‘crime’

Module content

Construction and deconstruction of official criminal statistics, differences between academic and non-academic criminological theories, the Classical School and early positivism; the main sociological perspectives up to the study of deviance.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught by a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Lectures provide an outline of the reading materials and introduce key concepts. Seminars and tutorials will explore in more detail the themes and issues of the reading and lectures and will be a forum in which students discuss their reading, test their knowledge development and debate arguments and methodological issues and consolidate their learning Students are expected to undertake at least 150 hours of independent study largely in the form of background reading.

Study hours

At least 37 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Review of a piece of criminological research provided or negotiated with seminar leader, not to exceed 1,250 words. 

Reassessment

Additional costs