191-208 Correctional Theory and Practice

Note

Available as 191-308 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Normally 25 points of first-year Criminology.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Correctional Theory and Practice is a course designed to introduce students to the major forms and structures of punishment in our society. The subject of corrections, otherwise known as penalty, examines why we punish individuals, how we do so, and how the punishment process can be viewed in a wider social context. The course is split into roughly three parts. The first considers the justifications for punishment and the kinds of sanctions available to courts in most Western jurisdictions. A second part will look briefly at groups whose concerns are not commonly to the fore in considerations of punishment processes: specifically, victims, women, minorities and youth. The final part of the course will examine the work of major writers who have provided a theoretical critique of punishment and the role it plays in our society.

Assessment

Up to 5000 words of written work. An examination of up to two hours may be substituted for part of the written work.