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Punishment and Penology (L3114)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

On this module, you’ll critically examine the theory and practice of punishment, with a primary focus on England and Wales and relevant comparisons to other countries, including Europe, North America, and Australasia.

You'll examine different theories about the justifications and purposes of punishment. You’ll then explore a variety of real-world examples, mostly from contemporary times, with some historical cases included

Key topics include:

• justifications for punishment
• different penologies
• contemporary imprisonment
• women in prison
• immigration detention centres
• alternatives to imprisonment
• radical critiques, such as abolitionism.

You’ll explore a range of theoretical approaches to punishment alongside contemporary and historical empirical examples.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.