131-111 Crime Law & Punishment-Colonial Victoria

Formerly available as 131-210/310. Students who have completed 131-210 or 131-310 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

Usually 25 points of first-year history, see Prerequisites.

This subject examines the origins and development of Victoria's criminal law, penal policy, policing and courts. It studies the historical development of notions of crime, and the theory and practice of its policing and punishment, from the start of white colonisation - including the criminal law's dealings with indigenous people. It explores the idea and importance of the Rule of Law; the origins and development of modern police; people's experiences of the criminal courts; the development of punishment, both capital and custodial; and the nature and treatment of crimes such as murder, assault, rape and domestic violence. On completion of the subject, students should have learned to analyse primary materials to reconstruct how colonial Victoria defined, treated and punished 'crime'; and developed skills in historical research into criminal justice materials.