BA (Hons) Sociology and Criminology

This module is about developing your lens and understanding of the rapidly changing world, refining your specialism as a professional or /practitioner and improving your professional facing profile. The module is delivered across specific course groupings that capture the academic standards, core values and employment opportunities of your subject area. This module draws on the well-evidenced benefits of community-facing service learning to the local community, the local economy and you, the student. In this way it supports the University’s Graduate Attributes, providing opportunities to enrich your learning and develop skills for the workplace through engagement in real-world activities. Therefore, across this module you will undertake at least one externally facing activity. That might include live or simulation briefs, placements, virtual placements, community events, or a Collaborative Online International Learning project (COIL) in order to build your graduate attainment, consolidate your subject interest and support your career aspirations. 

The Race, Empire and Modernity module explores the historical and contemporary functions of race and racism in the making of the modern world. The historical focus examines how colonialism developed European Empires, and how violence and ideology were used to extract resources and accumulate wealth from colonised lands. The contemporary focus of the module explores the modern legacy of Empire, from the perspective of racialised, gendered and class[ified] Others. Students taking this module will examine historical racial relationships of power, to understand how racism is reproduced in social interactions, economic market situations and political discourses in the here and now. They will also explore the extent to which racist ideologies are embedded in society’s institutions and structures, and how racism is contested and legitimated in processes and practices. The aim of this module is to enable students to understand the insidious function of racism in the social order. Students will also be able to identify the material consequences of racial inequality, and how social actors can mobilise to ameliorate its impact on individual life-chances and economic opportunities.

The module introduces you to major theories, concepts, debates and empirical insights concerning the sociology of gender and sexuality. You will study theories of feminism, sex, gender and sexuality from Freud to Mead and on to Hooks and Butler. You will learn to assess evidence and apply theory, and then to carry out your own data driven case studies. The readings you will encounter in the second half of the module apply the theory you learn in the first half to real-world situations where gender is a factor including crime, healthcare, the workplace and education. You will explore connections between sex, gender, sexuality, 'race' and class. You will end the module able to collect a sociological dataset and apply theory to this data.

Delve into the dark underbelly of environmental crime in this compelling module designed for students passionate about conservation and justice. Environmental Crime. Unveiling the shadows of illegal trade exploring the intricate connections between the thriving black market that fuels these illicit activities and those driving them. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students will uncover the alarming statistics and devastating impacts of these crimes on biodiversity and global ecosystems. Engaging with case studies that highlight the tactics of poachers targeting endangered species and examine how the illegal organ trade exploits vulnerable communities, compromising ethical standards and human rights. Analysing enforcement challenges, the role of organised crime syndicates, and the effectiveness of international legislation aimed at combating these threats. By the end of this module, students will not only be equipped with the knowledge to advocate for policy changes but will also develop critical thinking skills to propose innovative solutions for protecting our planet's invaluable resources.

This module will provide you with an applied understanding of research methods and their utility in the social sciences. You will learn about qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research and gain a critical understanding of how these methods can be used to produce rigorous academic research. You will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and develop and in-depth understanding of the various methodologies.

This module gives you the opportunity to explore selected contemporary issues in criminology and criminal justice in depth. You will engage with current debates and emerging topics, examining how they are shaped by social, political, and technological change. While the specific issues studied may vary from year to year, the module will introduce you to key concepts, research, and case studies that reflect pressing challenges in the field. Throughout the module, you will develop your ability to think critically about complex criminological issues, drawing on relevant theories and perspectives to analyse their causes, impacts, and responses. You will also consider how these issues are addressed in policy and practice, and make recommendations. The module is designed to support your development as an independent learner, where you’ll have the opportunity to showcase your analytical and research skills that are valuable for both academic progression and future careers in criminal justice and related fields.

The Crime, Deviance and the Risk Society module explores the impact of social and economic changes on contemporary perceptions of criminal and deviant behaviours. The normalisation of risk, in an anything-goes-society, is also examined within the context of public concern about the uncertainty of modern social life. The following are some of the questions investigated in this module. Can crime be considered a rational choice in a money-success orientated society? What is driving the resurgence of biological and genetic explanations of criminal and deviant dispositions? Is social inequality the main causal factor of crime, or is it simply a case of wicked people exist? Is incarceration an occupational hazard in a risk-tolerant society? Is deviance an assessment of free-market risks and rewards? Does crime pay in neoliberal societies, and if so then for whom? These questions are examined within the wider context of power, environment and the labelling, demonisation and criminalisation of racialised, gendered and class[ified] social groups.

In this module, you will examine one of the great sociological issues of our times: global migration. The first part of the module will examine 1) define migration, touch on its history and look at the empirical indicators, statistics, on its extent, 2) discuss selected theories of migration. The second part of this module will look at applied topic areas relevant to the subject, i.e. forced migration and asylum, gender and migration, migrants and economies, the state and immigration control, global warming and migration, migration in British history, and migration and the Black country.

The Body and Society module allows students to apply an auto-ethnographic lens, which centres their bodies in the contexts of their lived-experiences in different social and institutional settings. The theoretical foundations of this module are Goffman’s dramaturgy and Cooley’s looking-glass self. Students will examine the relationship between society and human bodies by focussing on the following: How are racialised, gendered and class[ified] bodies socially constructed over time and space? How are bodies perceived within relationships of power? How do different institutional and social settings enable and constrain individual agency? The module explores how capitalist processes of historical production and contemporary consumption have developed a fetishism of the body. The body is also examined alongside the impact that ideological and structural processes have on the embodiment of human subjectivity. The aim of the module is for students to develop a critical understanding of how the symbolic meanings and values we attach to human bodies, cannot be fully understood in isolation of transformations in capitalism.

The module will allow you to gain an in-depth critical understanding of the way in which the youth justice system has developed. You will explore societal reactions to and perceptions of children and young people who commit crime. The types of crimes that young people commit will be considered, alongside a critical look at why young people become involved with the youth justice system. You will evaluate the best ways to prevent and address youth offending. There will be a wider consideration of the contexts within which youth crime occurs, and how victimisation, vulnerability and offending behaviour are often complex and overlapping.