Faculty Booklet - The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine ...

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48 P O S T G R A D U A T E R E G U L A T I O N S & S Y L L A B U S E S 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6012 (Cj60N) COUrSE TITLE: CrIME, MEDIA AND SOCIETY NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course examines the role of the mass media in shaping public awareness of crime. The course also assesses the presentation of crime in the media and its relationship to a wider understanding of crime and criminal justice in society. Criminological, sociological and media theories are utilised to interpret the representation of crime in the media and its implications to the society and public policy. Emphasis will be given to the interaction of the media and the criminal justice system. However, the wider political and social ramifications of the media will be explored in the context of its relationship to media crime representation. Among the issues to be discussed are issues on class, race and gender issues in crime reporting, ‘gate keeping’ of news, media and fear of crime, the use and misuse of crime statistics in the media, media’s construction of reality, the media presentation of public policy on crime, media function and reform. Audio-visual presentations would be made during lectures. Assessment: One Research Essay - 40%. Final Examination - 60%. SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6007 (Cj60g) COUrSE TITLE: YOUTH VIOLENCE AND DELINqUENCY NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course will first examine the range of deviant acts typically committed by youths, that is, from mild delinquency to severe forms of delinquency, crime and violence. Such violence and delinquency will be considered in various contexts - social, psychological, economic and legal. We will use the school as a major institutional context to deal with correlational factors, policy and reform issues. We will discuss how the organisational features of the school can facilitate or prevent violence and delinquency. We will then search out the patterns of violence and delinquency, that is, what kind of student is more or less likely to commit such deviance; what kinds of organisational (or structural) weaknesses in schools, which facilitate or sustain student delinquency. In addition to theoretical explanations of student violence and delinquency, the course will provide some techniques for measuring violence and delinquency, and discuss some strategies for reducing and preventing delinquency in schools. Assessment: One Research Essay -40%. Final Examination- 60%. SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6008 (Cj60H) COUrSE TITLE: CrIME, POLICE AND SOCIETY NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course will firstly undertake a critical review of the relationship between policing and crime in a democratic society. Themes such as police accountability and police culture will be also examined in the context of law enforcement and community policing, the latter forming a significant part of the course. The course will discuss the various definitions and major concepts in community policing. It will then treat community policing within a social psychological framework so as to provide students with the conceptual and methodological tools to understand, develop and implement the various strategies which can be used to gain effective police-community linkages. Operational slogans such as zerotolerance, ‘broken-windows theory,’ target-hardening, etc. will be critically examined. The course will seek to examine the practicality of forging the necessary partnerships between the police and citizens for effective, sustainable community policing programmes. Therefore, issues such as police authority, law enforcement, role conflict and police culture will be treated alongside such issues as civilian confidence in the police, level of community readiness, citizens’ needs vs. the police agenda, and motivating citizens for community support in crime reduction and crime prevention. Some attention will be given to measuring and evaluating community policing. The dilemmas of community policing in a democratic society will be treated in the context of the elements which facilitate and hinder community-policing partnerships. SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6009 (Cj60K) COUrSE TITLE: CrIMINAL LAW AND PrOCEDUrE NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course is designed to examine some essential functions of criminal law and criminal procedure. Attempts will be made to illustrate the reciprocal linkages between selected criminological themes (e.g., criminal motivation, social structure and crime, court-room stereotyping etc.), and how the law is actually applied (e.g., adjudication, jury decisions). Among the specific issues discussed are criminal liability, defenses to criminal charges, elements of a crime, crimes of negligence, offences against the person, offences against property, victimless crimes, sexual offences, Also discussed will be the criminal process from investigation to sentencing and trial by jury.
P O S T G R A D U A T E R E G U L A T I O N S & S Y L L A B U S E S 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: SOCI 6007 COUrSE TITLE: BEYOND rACE AND rACISM: CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF DIFFErENCE NO. OF CrEDITS : 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION: This seminar is structured around the conceptualisation of ‘difference’ and especially when ‘difference’ is constructed as inferior. It will focus on approaches to racism and racialised identities and at the level of theory, it will examine relations and structures of power and their association with racialisation. It aims at providing students with an understanding of how ideas or ‘race’ and racism developed in various historical periods including slavery, colonialism and imperialism. It will also look at the ways in which colonised peoples developed methods of resistance to racism and to general effects of social racism in its various forms and manifestation, it will also give students an understanding of other constructs of ‘difference’ associated with the relationship between ethnicity, ‘race’, class and gender. SEMESTEr: 1 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6003 (Cj60C) COUrSE TITLE: SENTENCINg, COrrECTIONS AND PENAL rEFOrM NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course aims to explore some of the theoretical, legal, psychological and sociological issues of sentencing. It examines some court decisions, including Caribbean ones, as well as the overall use of prison incarceration. The court arguments for sentencing or not, as well as the justifications for mitigation will also be discussed. The role of imprisonment in particular will then be examined to see the extent to which its objectives are met and whether the rates of prisoner recidivism create an obligation for both clearer rehabilitation policies and alternatives to incarceration. Assessment: One Research Essay -40%. Final Examination -60%. SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6010 (Cj60L) COUrSE TITLE: CrIME AND PUBLIC POLICY NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course examines the problems and dilemmas in shaping effective policies to deal with public concerns over crime. Governments and the relevant institutions are pressed to respond effectively and visibly to the pressures and fears generated by criminals in the society. The course will therefore emphasise the ways in which social science research and analysis can help in such challenges. Who should be the key stakeholders in framing public on crime, and how are sectoral pressures and ideologies accommodated in framing public policy on crime? How is public policy on crime related to the existing political systems of the Caribbean and the overall practice of good governance? What kinds of tensions exist between the researcher and the policy-maker and how could these be mitigated or reduced? What are some of the major obstacles in developing and especially implementing public policies on crime? How can the public be mobilised to contribute and support public policies on crime? These are some of the questions which will be examined in this course. The bureaucratic mechanism of policy-making itself will be discussed. We will then use a number of existing policies on crime to help explain the actual processes involved. For example, the course will examine the policy response to certain crimes such domestic violence, corporate crime and State corruption, delinquency and the general role of the law in crime prevention. Assessment: One Research Essay - 40%. Final Examination -60%. SEMESTEr: 2 COUrSE CODE: CrMj 6011 (Cj60M) COUrSE TITLE: PrOFESSIONAL ETHICS IN POLICINg AND CrIMINAL jUSTICE NO. OF CrEDITS: 3 COUrSE DESCrIPTION:This course begins with a discussion of the definition of ethics and the professional dilemmas which often arise in keeping clear the line between what is right and wrong within policing and other specific areas in the administration of justice. It distinguishes between absolute and relative values, thus reaching a critical review of ‘situational ethics’ and unprofessional conduct. We will look at the practice of ethics in such contexts as police confessions and investigations, court trials, treatment of the accused and prisoners, etc. The course will therefore consider normative ethics, utilitarianism and deontological ethics (duty). To assist in this approach, we identify three levels of assessing ethical behaviour - the personal, the social and the institutional - and examine the practical implications of each level. The methods used to develop and preserve ethical conduct within the various agencies of the justice system will be discussed. Reference will be made to the early works of Plato, Kant, Bentham, Mill and Aristotle. Assessment: One Research Essay - 40%. Final Examination - 60%. 49
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