Module LAW2231: GENDER, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Department: Law

LAW2231: GENDER, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Prerequisites

• Criminal Law (LAW 2221). The pre-requisite may be taken as a co-requisite.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide students with a broad understanding of the extent to which laws and policies relating to crime and punishment are influenced by sex and gender; and to develop students understanding of the broader social and political context to criminal law and policy making.

Content

• Theories of gender, crime and punishment
• The impact of sex and gender on criminal law and criminology;
• Gender, crime and poverty
• Masculinity and violence
• Sexual offences and rape law
• Prostitution
• Gender, women and defences to murder
• Gender and the criminal justice system
• Sentencing and imprisonment
• Legal regulation of pornography

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical approaches to selected areas of substantive law in the field of gender, crime and punishment
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of selected areas of substantive criminal law and policies relating to crime and punishment.

• Students should be able to:
• Evaluate critically the relevance of gender issues in the determination of criminal law and policies relating to crime and punishment
• Demonstrate analytical and critical skills in regard to the social implications of existing and proposed laws and legal policies
• Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the significance of law in its social context
• Evaluate selected areas of substantive law and legal policy in the light of different approaches to the study of law and gender, including the ability to offer personal and justifiable opinions on the effectiveness of specific laws, the desirability of reform and to recognise and understand competing arguments for reform.

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The learning outcomes will be met by the teaching and learning methods employed and by the choice of subject matter for individual topics.
• Students will be supported in their efforts to learn independently by clear definitions of the objectives of tasks within the module and by information on sources and methods of working effectively.
• Summative assessment comprises one unseen examination of two hours fifteen minutes (including fifteen minutes reading time) (50%) and assessed coursework (50%). The examination tests the ability to focus on relevant legal issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised. The examination questions will provide the means for students to demonstrate the acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 x 2,000 word essay.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University