Punishment and Penology (Spr) (L4104B)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

In this module, you’ll critically explore the theory and practice of punishment, focusing primarily on England and Wales while drawing comparisons with countries in Europe, North America and Australasia, where relevant.

You'll examine different theories about the justifications and purposes of punishment. You’ll then explore a variety of real-world examples, mostly from contemporary times, with some historical cases included.

Key topics include:

• justifications for punishment
• different penologies
• contemporary imprisonment
• women in prison
• immigration detention centres
• alternatives to imprisonment
• radical critiques, including abolitionism.

You’ll examine a range of theoretical approaches to punishment and analyse both contemporary and historical empirical examples.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.