Law, Society And Controversy

The unit has a principle aim to provide a broad introduction and foundational knowledge to the legal system, its institutions and practices, in the UK and internationally. The learning on the unit will consider the relevance of the law and how it impacts on society and orders social life. These frameworks will enable a range of current controversies to be examined and integrate controversy with regards to key issues and legal cases into the syllabus of the unit.

The syllabus is based on research addressing many of the key issues and debates at the centre of the law and society both within the UK and internationally. These lie at the heart of all the undergraduate courses taking this unit. The relevance of the unit is also evident in the many links between the law and the human services; the unit explores these links in terms of the practical application of knowledge and research by different
practitioners in the human services with regards to children and families, the police, health care professionals and social workers.

Career Planning For Social Scientists

This unit recognises the investment made by SASS students in coming to university to study a degree and is designed to begin the conversation about possible graduate destinations. It will also provide a lens through which the opportunities within your degree can contribute to your aspiration and the achievement of your graduate goal and by embedding Personal Development Planning as integral  to your future success

Within a student’s career journey, it is important to undertake activities that allow for the understanding of personal values, strengths, and developing a realistic vocational or employment self-concept. This unit will introduce these frameworks and enable you to consider your career planning in an informative and structured approach as you continue through your studies by recognising and most importantly, valuing, your lived experience. 

This unit aims to:

·       To give  students an opportunity to begin plotting their personal development journey over their three year degree course 

·       Provide career development  interventions to assist students’ ability to identify their transferrable skills and articulate their experience, skills and attributes in a confident, meaningful and positive manner.

Introducing Academic Skills

Constructive oral and written communication, and the effective and ethical management and presentation of knowledge and information, are essential for both academic work at degree level and your professional practice. This unit will enable you to develop your understanding of the skills and conventions of academic study in higher education and within your discipline, and recognise their transferability to and relevance for your work with service users and professional colleagues. You will be encouraged to identify your own academic strengths, areas for development, and strategies to support your academic growth.

By the end of the unit the students will have gained an understanding of key academic skills such as assessment planning, how to effectively use BREO, searching for and sourcing academic material, learning to reference and how to construct essays, presentations and consideration of the differences between academic work and professional report writing.

Introduction To Criminology

This Unit provides you with an introduction to the discipline of Criminology. It is expected that you will be new to the subject and the Unit traces the development of Criminology as a distinct discipline, highlighting the theoretical approaches that have been forwarded to explain crime, deviance and offending behaviour. Each of the theoretical positions is examined in outline, and introduces you to the language and terminology of the discipline together with examples of the research frameworks used. Having established the principles behind theoretical explanations the Unit begins to explore the responses society makes to offending behaviour through an evaluation of the Criminal Justice System. Thus the development of the main controlling mechanisms – courts, police, prisons and government agencies, such as probation and Youth Offending Panels – will be introduced and explained. Current and future development will also be highlighted towards the end of the Unit. The main themes of this unit will be explored in greater detail at Level Five and so should be considered as a starting point to the study of Criminology.

Introduction To Research And Social Enquiry

The unit will prepare you for degree level study by promoting your understanding of how and why we carry out research in the social sciences. The unit seeks to introduce you to some of the methodological debates and social theories which inform and underpin social investigation and to link those debates to different approaches in social research. You will consider topics such as ‘the nature of society’, its essential characteristics, and on that basis how best to go about investigating social life. Firstly, we will consider the issue of social investigation and science Secondly, we will examine specific areas of social life, such as crime/education/immigration/health status- in order to illustrate how answers to the questions raised in part one will tend to shape approaches to social research. We will also discuss relevant research procedures, in particular those associated with "positivism" and with "anti-positivism" or ethnography.  We will introduce alternative views - those of critical theory and post-modernism - which have a bearing on social enquiry. Thirdly you will gain an understanding of quantitative and qualitative research procedures and their methodological implications.

Whilst studying the above topics you will be developing your academic writing skills, learning how to construct your written work and learn how to source and correctly reference relevant research/academic material such as; journal articles, policy papers, official statistics and books. This will be excellent preparatory work for all your assessments and especially the level 5 Research Approaches unit.

The assessment strategies are designed to help you to develop the academic skills required of higher education and to further develop your understanding of what it means to ‘study society’.

Anti-Racism: Movements And Campaigns

This Unit aims to introduce students to anti racist campaigns of scholars and activists in contemporary Britain. Locating UK Black Lives Matter within the context of 50 years of Black activism in the UK, students will explore links to a global politics of anti racism.

The Unit is broadly chronological, but is organized more thematically. Alongside addressing the historical context, as well as readings in political and cultural theory, students will gain experience of working with primary sources, including films, images, literature, poetry, and autobiography. In terms of its relevance, the Unit provides students with an understanding of the concept of ‘social harms’ as well as the role of anti racist activism and resistance in an increasingly globalised and multicultural world.  

Crimes Of The Powerful

This Unit aims to achieve in students’ knowledge and understanding of state, political, corporate crime and corporate offenders. Much of the criminal activity associated with politics, business and financial markets involves financial gain or favour, yet a significant amount of harm is done through voter manipulation, substandard working, business and environmental practices. Students will consider crimes of power drawing on international examples to reflect the multi-national organisation. In addition, the links between politicians, organised crime and businesses will be explored. The unit seeks to address and challenge the emphasis placed on ‘low level’ crime by a focus on crime committed by persons of high social status and/or power.

Gangs And Serious Youth Violence

This unit examines and critically evaluates research evidence and sociological and criminological theory to explore the nature, extent and impact of gang offending and serious youth violence and how we might respond effectively to it. In doing so, the unit examines the historical, social, economic, political and cultural forces that have shaped both violent group offending and gang proliferation in the UK and elsewhere and considers the evidence base of current practice to address questions of policy, strategy and intervention.  

The unit will provide students with the opportunity to analyse the implications and complexities of researching ‘gangs’ and serious youth violence. It also equips students with the conceptual tools and knowledge base to critically assess policy and practice in relation to youth offending, particularly amongst culturally, economically, socially and politically marginalised young people and will enable students to link the study of youth group violence to broader themes explored in the core units.  

Victims And Victimology

The unit provides students with knowledge and understanding regarding working with and supporting victims, families and witnesses, locating this the wider societal context. The unit also introduces students to the concepts and theories relating to victimology including victim and offender, and victim and the criminal justice system relationships.

As a student you will develop knowledge and critical understanding of the theoretical and practical concepts of providing initial contact and support to victims, survivors and witnesses who have been affected by offending or anti-social behaviour. The initial contact and support may include the family and friends of the victim in cases of bereavement. You will be able to explain the importance of balancing the rights of the individual against the risk of harm to themselves and others.

You will develop a critical understanding of the relationships between victims and offenders and victims and the criminal justice system as well as the wider society. You will be able to critically analyse and evaluate the theories and key concepts such as victim status, victim movements and victims’ rights within a contemporary criminal justice system. You will assess and critique the political and sociological debates that attempt to place the victim at the heart of the criminal justice system.

Rehabilitation Of The Offender: Probation, Restoration And Social Justice

This unit aims to achieve in students’ knowledge and understanding of rehabilitative practice within the 21st Century.  Rehabilitative practice is focused upon the promotion of desistance, deterrence and reducing recidivism within offenders.   Current practices within both the national and international framework are considered, in addition to the links between and comparisons of private, state, voluntary and third sector provision of rehabilitative practice.  Therefore, this unit aims to focus upon the identification of the complex needs of offenders, how these are managed effectively and how desistance and rehabilitation work to prevent reoffending. The unit is informed by a social justice narrative because it is focused on the social inclusion and rehabilitation of those in conflict with the law, and thus aims to reflect diversity and inclusion in the curriculum. 

The Social Sciences At Work

The graduate job market is a highly competitive arena. As such, it is essential for students preparing for graduate employment to have a realistic awareness of, the ways in which the professional work place operates and the skills, knowledge and experiences that are expected and desirable for their passport and successful transition into graduate level employment. This unit builds upon the Level 4 unit which requires students to have begun their thinking about their intended graduate destination and undertaken a level of career development planning at the end of their first year. 

During this unit, students will undertake work based opportunities with an organisation or service that is appropriate to their degree subject.  The expected length of time for this placement is a minimum of 15 hours.

Students will engage with personal development planning, to reflect on their own development as a professional and to gain insight into the breadth and complexity of graduate professional roles. They will be encouraged to complete the Bedfordshire for Success award as they progress through the unit by engaging with the Careers and Employability Service in the development of their individual career readiness.

Research 1: Collecting Data

The unit will equip you with the key skills to be an independent researcher in the social sciences. You will develop an understanding of qualitative and quantitative data, different methods of collecting data and sources of collected data. This unit builds on the Level 4 Introduction to Research and Social Inquiry, which introduced some methodological debates and social theories, which inform and underpin social investigation.

You will learn about the different methods of collecting data and the importance of choosing a suitable method for data collection in social research. These aspects will be covered during lectures and workshops where you will have the opportunity to practice this knowledge.

The skills you will acquire from this unit are transferable and will be a useful asset to have for another Level 5 research unit, Research: Exploring data.

This unit will prepare you for the final year independent project unit at Level 6 as it allows you to familiarise yourself with the different methods for collecting data using both qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

Sonic Surveillance: 'Race', Rap, And Criminal Justice

Rap music is a global cultural phenomenon. From its emergence in the United States as a predominantly Black art form, it has become one of the dominant forms of popular musical expression. At the same time, it has also been a site for mounting criminalization. Looking at the interface between rap (broadly applied to include US Rap, UK Rap, Grime and Drill) and the Criminal Justice system, this Unit explores how we understand the conjuncture between ‘race’ and crime. Drawing on contemporary UK examples, students will consider how rap (listening to it and creating it) can bring disproportionate numbers of Black youth into contact with the Criminal Justice System.  Students will explore how rap feeds into race and class based narratives. As rap music and culture are policed by the state in a range of national contexts, the Unit seeks to address issues relating to monitoring, regulation, data gathering, and surveillance.

Cybercrime

The unit will introduce students to the complex world of cyber-crime and issues related to cyber-technology and the transformation of crime in this information age. It aims to develop an understanding of different types of groups of cybercrime that are emerging as problematic i.e. cyber terrorism, cyberbullying, and cyber hate. It will permit students an opportunity to examine and conceptualise some of the key debates around crime, policy, human rights, crime prevention, security, and policing.

The module will work well alongside the other modules related to child protection, organised crime, crime and media, and terrorism where students will examine the rationale of cyber-crimes. It will explore, within a (grounded) criminological conceptual framework, theoretical understandings of crime in the information age. It will also develop the students’ knowledge of how cyber-crime emerges and provide the context by which students can develop a critical awareness and systematic understanding of this area within the criminal justice setting.

Theorising Crime, Punishment And Justice

This unit will build on that knowledge gained through your studies at level 4.  Compared with level four, lectures will be more discursive, highlighting debates, controversies and issues that students will pursue further through seminars and independent study. 

The aims of the unit are as follows:

1. To analyse and evaluate crime and offending and the mechanisms used to control crime through the use of different theoretical perspectives. 

2.  To analyse and evaluate Non-Western concepts of crime, justice and punishment. 

3. To examine and critically evaluate justifications of punishment in order to identify a progressive position on punishment.

4. To examine the main features of penal systems.

5. To assess the usefulness of different theoretical frameworks in explaining the origins of crime, offenders engagement with crime and disorder, state responses and efforts towards crime control and development of penal systems over time.

6. To examine and evaluate changes in policing practices in relation to selected forms of criminal behaviour in the post-war years.

Research 2: Exploring Data

The unit will equip you with the key research skills for social scientists relating to data interpretation and analysis. You will learn about different ways of exploring and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data during the lectures and gain practical experience of carrying out data analysis during the workshops.

  Building on the level four unit ‘Introduction to Research and Social Inquiry’, you will also enhance your knowledge and understanding of the entire process of a research project and individual steps involved in conducting research. You will be encouraged to consider why and how we analyse data and how the stage of data analysis fits within the whole research process. This unit is designed also to help you understand the use of theory in research and gives the opportunity to be involved in the exercise of identifying appropriate theories that can be utilised when creating your own research project.

This unit will prepare you for the final year project unit at level six. You will have developed the skills and knowledge required for you to confidently take forward your research idea, develop your proposal, carry out your chosen research methodology and create a worthwhile, structured and academically sound final year project.

The Contemporarised Criminalogical Environment

This Unit aims to achieve in students’ knowledge and understanding of crime within their localized environment. Much of the criminal activity associated relates to national frameworks of study.  Within this unit students will be actively encouraged to review the contemporary, localized criminal environment focusing on crimes and the causes of crime within their urban and rural neighbouring areas.

The development of localised crime and the response of the police and CJS will be analysed and reviewed allowing students to develop key localised knowledge and apply analysis to that knowledge through the utilisation of established criminological theories and concepts.

The establishment of links to localised projects operating to reduce the impact of crime on the local population will also be encouraged.

Sass Change Maker Project Dissertation

This capstone experience provides students with an opportunity to join a community-based organisation and deliver a project that will encourage students to be reflexive about their role in social worlds relevant to their discipline.  They will develop skills through relevant partner training as well as project management, research and presentation skills which will make a positive impact to service users or the organisation/community more widely. In particular, the intention will be to create change and address inequality by responding to identified needs and promoting social justice.

By undertaking this unit you will have an opportunity to negotiate, plan, execute and evaluate your work, whilst monitoring your personal development against an agreed Personal Development Plan (PDP) in order to hone your employability skills. 

In order to complete this unit successfully, students will need to have presented a Project Proposal which receives approval as assessment 1 before the project is undertaken. Alongside this, the Student-Sponsor Agreement (including the agreed final method of assessment and evidencing a clear risk mitigation strategy) and the Personal Development plan are required at the end of the first 6 weeks. 

Sass Change Maker Research Dissertation

The aim of the unit is to consolidate and apply the knowledge gained from the previous years by demonstrating the ability to make sense of potentially complex and possibly contradictory findings and apply them to an area or issue related to your subject discipline. The Research Dissertation will allow you to examine contemporary social contexts and issues by applying subject-specific knowledge, theory and appropriate methodologies to the analysis of your chosen topic and consider how your work can contribute to the promotion of social justice. This requires the capability to inquire into complex issues systematically and critically and thus allows you to move from critical acceptance of knowledge to the critical constructor of that very knowledge and its broader application in society.

The Research Dissertation gives you an opportunity to develop a research proposal, consider the ethical implications of your project and to undertake an in-depth focused research enquiry relevant to your course and to your individual personal and professional interests and career intentions. It will take the form of either of the following: 

·       Primary research

·       Substantive literature review

·       Desktop research - secondary analysis project that addresses a proposition you wish to analyse in-depth

·       Content Analysis of policy documents, print media, social media, TV and/or film 

·       A Discourse Analysis 

The unit is additionally designed in part fulfilment of the University’s requirements for all award courses to provide opportunities for you to develop your personal development planning skills and evidence your abilities in independent learning. The predominant aim is to offer you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to complete a sustained piece of individual research on an appropriate topic in ways that also enhance your personal and professional development skills and that can be relatable to your future employment. 

In order to complete this unit successfully, students will need to have presented a Research Proposal which receives approval as assessment 1, before any research commences.

You will undertake this project under supervision in order to maximise the opportunity to fulfil your potential in these areas.   

Urban Crime

The advancement of liberal ideology expressed through popularised maxims such as neoliberalism, free market and capitalism, has exposed the lacuna between ideology and practice. The liberalization and deregulation of markets and its negative effects are more pronounced in the urban areas with issues such as social justice, inequality and exclusion dominating the debates. This unit aims to provide students with the critical understanding of the various complexities associated with urban areas as it pertains to crime, social harm and disorder. The unit will explore the various debates on urban criminology using broad analytical and theoretical frameworks, e.g. historical, political, economic, social and cultural. The unit will also cover themes such as urban management by state, local government, and the community, urban economics, disorder management, impact of   globalisation, urbanisation, victimisation, social structures and global crime management. There is a global element to this unit as examples will be drawn from across the world. 

Crime And Media

The unit’s aim is to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the contested cultural meanings and central role played by the media in the construction of the crime problem. Crime occupies a principal place in public concerns. The unit explores how definitions of criminality are taken at face value.  Nonetheless, for the most part, public knowledge of crime and criminal justice is filtered through the media in all its forms. In the context of this unit, students will have the opportunity to examine the multifaceted relationship between the media, crime and culture. Print crime journalism, crime novels, movies and TV dramas will provide the primary empirical sources for the unit

Youth Justice: Models And Approaches

The Unit seeks to compare a wide range of practice and policies, primarily from the United Kingdom, Europe and North America, to examine which approaches to youth justice best meet the needs of young people and wider society through a best practice approach. 

The Unit will start by focusing upon the establishment of a separate youth justice system in the early 1900s to the present day, and will identify the political ideologies and criminal justice and social policies which have shaped the contemporary youth justice system within England and Wales. Within this framework, you will analyse the relationship between the changing knowledge base of youth justice and the ebb and flow of political and professional power. You will consider the impact of these developments on the evolution of professional practice within youth justice and, in particular, the factors which led to the reforms of the youth justice system in the late 1990s and subsequent developments. The Unit will introduce you to the legal and administrative framework of the contemporary youth justice system, the mechanisms for delivery of youth justice services and current debates surrounding policy and practice. Having established the basis of practice within the United Kingdom, the Unit will provide you with knowledge of alternative and complementary youth justice practice from a range of settings from both the developed and developing worlds which will enable you to engage with postcolonial and post disciplinary critiques of Western perspectives of youth and youth offending and perceptions of justice.   

The Unit will be of particular interest to you if you have experience of, or an interest in, youth justice, probation, crime prevention, policing, education and youth work.

Terrorism In A Global Context

Green Criminology: Environmental Crime And Ecological Justice

This unit explores the wide range of challenges posed by environmental crime. This unit will introduce students to the study of environmental crime and critically evaluates perspectives on green criminology, and crimes against the environment. Taking a ‘Glocal’ approach, environmental crimes and exploitation would examined at community, national, and international level. It considers contemporary perspectives on green offending, the regulation of environmental problems, and global perspectives on green crimes, green criminality and the effectiveness of justice systems in resolving environmental problems. 

Additionally, key theoretical debates surrounding the legal notions of harms against the environment and the classification of non-humans as victims of crime an introduction to a range of approaches to policing different types of environmental crimes and the legal, financial and practical problems these present for governments and enforcement agencies.

Violence In Modern Society

This unit offers a critical examination of violence as a social and cultural phenomenon. It will take into consideration legal definitions of violent crime and examine violence in its different forms, incorporating those forms which are less likely to be perceived as crime, such as consensual sexual violence, violence against children, violence as entertainment and violence as rite and ritual.

To understand the complex issues surrounding violence, culture and society, it is necessary to explore a variety of theoretical and disciplinary approaches used by social scientists in order to both explain violence and understand the contexts in which forms of violence occurs, including gaining an understanding of how violence constructs and is constructed by
the socio-cultural context in which it occurs.

Political violence in the case of terrorism and the states responses will be considered alongside violence against specific groups or individuals - for example, racial or homophobic violence. The history of violence as a component of society will also be considered as will the willingness of ‘the public’ to participate in violent acts of torture, execution and humiliation as public spectacle. In particular these representations of violence have strongly featured in ‘entertainment’ and this will form a focus of study through the analysis of a variety of media forms.

Professional Practice Year (Applied Social Studies)

Increasingly, employers look for graduates who can evidence experience in work settings of relevance to the industry/organisations they want to join. This year-long unit aims to provide you with the opportunity to gain formally recognised and appropriate work based learning. It will allow you to develop your employability skills and reflect on your personal and professional development as part of a four-year degree course. The experience of work that you gain can be applied in your final year of study and will enable you to plan appropriately for a suitable graduate destination

Individuals And Society

The aim of this unit is to examine the particular perspective of sociology; how sociologists view the relationship between the individual and society. To do this we first need to establish what is meant by 'society' and how it affects and is affected by the construction of identity. This will help you to understand the relative influence of social, political, economic and cultural factors on the formation of social structures and social identities.

By studying this unit you will be able to understand the different social Issues, practices and institutions within society and the impact that they have on individuals. It will also build your knowledge and understanding of how sociologists explain, resolve and debate sociological issues within social practices and institutions.

Skills For Work And Personal Development

This unit will concentrate on the skills that develop your Graduate employment prospects, alongside developing the skills needed for success in the workplace. The unit offers you opportunities to learn these skills through a variety of workshop exercises that are linked to developing your employability and personal skills.

To achieve this you will build on and develop further your knowledge and understanding of the skills and abilities required for study at Higher Education and those required in the work place. You will draw upon the learning and development of essential academic skills learnt in the semester one unit Skills for Higher education. To demonstrate your skills development you will build a portfolio of evidence which will allow you to transition into level 4 with both the knowledge and evidence of those areas for improvement and those of success. 

The unit will help you to develop those soft employability skills and to begin to build your aspirations for graduate employment once you have completed your degree. It will help you to develop self-confidence and you will have the chance to work on practical skills that relate to the world of work.

Skills For Higher Education

Good study skills can increase your confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Study skills are skills all students use to study effectively, whatever their subject area. All students have them; it’s really about recognising them, developing them, refining them and using them more effectively.

This unit is designed to provide you with an array of practical skills in order to support your journey through the degree. 

The Unit aims to:

• Support students in identifying what skills, attributes and experiences they are bringing to higher education and what skills are required when taking a social sciences degree 
• It will introduce you to a range of practical skills that will enable you to produce a portfolio of work which will provide evidence of your skills development and preparations for level 4 study. 

Contemporary Society

This unit aims to highlight contemporary social issues which impact communities and the wider society.  A contemporary issue refers to an issue that is currently affecting people or places and that is unresolved.

The unit builds on the sociological theories learnt in semester one unit Individuals and Society. You will be studying topics that are current and topical and will gain a good grounding in identifying and understanding those issues that those in society. These issues will reflect both national and international social issues. This unit will provide a foundation of knowledge for those students doing social studies degrees at level 4.