Prisons & Society
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| SOCI2027 | Sociology and Social Policy | 2 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- SOCI2027
- School
- Sociology and Social Policy
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This module will provide students with an comprehensive introduction to the topic of prisons and imprisonment. It will situate the modern prison within a broader societal context, and explore this institution from the point of view of prisoners, prison staff and the wider community. Students will examine the historical evolution of the prison and reflect upon the 'punitive shift' in penal policy from the 'rehabilitative ideal' of the immediate post-war period, to the penal populism that now characterises so much prison debate. It will examine the governance and administration of the prison system before turning to the routines of everyday prison life, and how that prisoners confront and give meaning to those realities. The module will conclude by exploring a number of contemporary debates relating to prison and society. These may include: the use of solitary confinement, the implications of recent trends in very long prison sentences, global trends in incarceration and the case for abolitionism.
Target Students
Available to all level 2 and 3 students including subsidiary students from outside the school and exchange students.
Classes
This module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 40% Groupwork: 20 minutes group presentation
- 60% Coursework: 2500 words.
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The educational aims of this module are to:1. Introduce students to a range of theoretical perspectives and debates as they relate to the experience of prison and imprisonment.2. Build student knowledge and understanding of the historical and international development of the prison institution and its relationship with society more broadly.3. Encourage students to locate the prison within broader structures of power and to imagine alternatives to current systems of punishment.Learning Outcomes
On completion of the module students should be able to:
Knowledge & Understanding:
- Recognise the main theoretical arguments regarding the sociology of prisons and incarceration.
- Be able to assess the advantages and disadvantages of imprisonment approaches and state involvement.
- Critically examine prison-based research findings both past and present.
- Discuss the work of selected seminal theorists and also evaluate issues of contemporary theoretical and empirical prison debate.
- Examine real-world and social policy effects of the relationship between state welfare and offence rate / imprisonment.
- Examine the interdisciplinary position of imprisonment specifically the interrelated nature of politics, economics, etc.
- Critically examine future options regarding the nature of imprisonment.
Transferable/Key Skills:
- Develop capacity to use sociology of prisons and incarceration insights to understand social phenomena.
- Understand related methodological/research issues as applied to the understanding of social phenomena.
- Apply oral and written language skills with respect to handling abstract frameworks, new theoretical concepts, and research evidence.