L6 Unit Selection Booklet

BA/BSc (Hons) Sociology

BA/BSc (Hons) Criminology

BA/BSc (Hons) Criminology & Sociology

Level 6

Unit Selection Booklet

Contents

05

Using this handbook

Year 3 Structure of BA (Hons) degree routes 6

Year 3 Structure of BSc (Hons) degree routes with Quantitative Methods

06

Semester 1 Options

Delivering Justice for Women

Global Justice and Crime Control

Working with Offenders

Politics of Imprisonment

Body, Sexuality and Culture

Styles, Tribes, Rituals and Resistance

Space, Place and Crime

Dissertation (BA degree routes only)

07

Semester 2 Options

Diversity, Difference and the Limits of Criminology

Class Conflict

Sociological Psychology

08 Appendix

Dissertation Proposal Form 21

Guidance notes for the dissertation proposal form

Introduction

Welcome to the 2024/25 Options Selection process.

This Handbook is for Year 2 (Level 5) students moving into Year 3 in September 2024. The handbook will help you understand the structure of Year 3 of your course and support you to make informed choices in the selection of option units.

Each year of your course, you study 120 credits of units. Your final year is a mix of Core (compulsory) and Option units. You need to consider the different option units available and make your selection.

Option Selection Process

Read this section to understand the process for making your option selection:

Step 1: Read the Handbook

This handbook details the structure of your second year, identifies the academic guidance available to support you to make your choices, and provides an overview of each Option unit available with contact details of Unit Leaders.

Step 2: Attend your Options Talk

YOUR OPTIONS TALK:

1pm - 2pm on 13th March, in GMLT4 and online via this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ ZTRlOWZlZDAtZGM0ZC00NThkLTg4MjgtNGY0YmU2YjIyNTE4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22283f fb50-a30b-488c-90f4-cdae4f7ae6d1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22a6e3782c-9d2d-4562-ae3b-29640fb6274f%22%7d A recording will be made available.

Step 3: Make your Selection

Option selection is an online process. You will receive information by email about the process and how to access the online form. Please keep an eye on your Manchester Met email account.

MAKE YOUR SELECTION: Monday 18th March to Friday 22nd March 2024.

If you do not make the selections during the timeframe, you will be auto allocated an option based on available spaces.

Support For Making Your Options Choice

• Options Unit Leaders can discuss the content of their units with you in more detail to help you make informed choices.

• Your Personal Tutor can offer a perspective on what might be ‘good’ combinations of units for you and your degree route.

Additional Support:

Role Name Email

Head of Year Crim-Soc Head L6CrimSocHead@mmu.ac.uk

Deputy Programme Lead Ben Hall B.Hall@mmu.ac.uk

Head of Year 1 Lynn De Santis L.DeSantis@mmu.ac.uk

Head of Year 2 Carla Cordner C.Cordner@mmu.ac.uk

PLEASE NOTE: If you experience technical difficulties with the Option Selection platform, seek advice from IT Help.

IT helpline number: 0161 247 4646

Sensitivity Disclaimer !

When choosing your options, please read the unit descriptions carefully. Several units either focus on or include sensitive topics that may trigger an emotional or psychological response. You are encouraged to consider each unit’s topical content carefully in making your choices.

Please note that not all unit descriptions give an explicit sensitivity warning.

Using this Handbook

Please review the structure of your degree programme (below) to find out the specific mix of Core and Option units you will take in your second year. This will allow you to identify the semester(s) you have option unit choices to make.

• Read the Option Descriptions for each of the units offered.

• Contact Unit Leaders to discuss any questions you have regarding the content of units or their assessment.

• Book an appointment with your Personal Tutor if you’d like another perspective on your choices.

• If you have questions about your course structure or about your second year, please contact relevant Heads of Year or the Deputy Programme Leader.

Year 3 Course Structure

BA/BSc (Hons)

Sociology / Criminology / Criminology and Sociology

Year 3 (Level 6) on the BA routes consists of 30 credits of Core units and 90 credits of Option units.

Semester 1

OPTIONS: Choose TWO from the list below:

1. Delivering Justice for Women

2. Global Justice and Crime Control

3. Working with Offenders

4. Politics of Imprisonment

5. Body, Sexuality and Culture

6. Styles, Tribes, Rituals and Resistance

7. Space, Place and Crime

8. Dissertation - option for BA Semester 1&2

*OPTION units are all 30 credits

Year 3 Course Structure

Semester 2

CORE units (30 credits)

• Social Science Futures

1. Diversity, Difference and the Limits of Criminology

2. Class Conflict

3. Sociological Psychology

BA/BSc (Hons) Criminology

Sociology / Criminology / Criminology and Sociology with Quantitative Methods

BSc Criminology and/or Sociology with Quantitative Methods

The BSc Programme is run by Manchester Met Q-Step Centre. The Q-Step centre is one of fifteen centres in the UK. The key objective of the Q-Step programme and the work of its Centres is to make a step-change in quantitative social science training and to equip social science graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills needed for the contemporary economic and social climate we live in. It has been well documented that quantitative research skills are in short supply but in high demand; the Q-Step programme seeks to address this problem.

At Manchester Met Q-Step we feel it is important that our students are involved in research practice from the very outset of their journey. Students are regularly involved in real-world projects that give them the opportunity to enhance valuable skills in applied research while also engaging with the larger community.

Core Module - Applied Quantitative Project

The BSc route is designed to equip you with a comprehensive understanding of quantitative research methodologies and their application in real-world settings. In the core module, Applied Quantitative Project, students undertake an independent project where they engage with quantitative datasets (using secondary data analysis) or you can have the opportunity to collaborate with organisations while undertaking your Applied Quantitative Project. This hands-on experience allows students to develop practical skills in data analysis and interpretation, preparing them for various professional roles that require quantitative proficiency.

Core Module - Becoming a Quantitative Researcher

Complementing the Applied Quantitative Project, Becoming a Quantitative Researcher delves into more advanced quantitative research methods. Building upon foundational knowledge from previous modules, students explore more statistical techniques and used in quantitative research. This module will enhance your ability to carry out more comprehensive analysis, critically analyse data, and draw meaningful conclusions. Overall, the BSc route will empower you to become proficient quantitative researcher, capable of addressing complex challenges in diverse fields.

Year 3 (Level 6) on the BSc routes (with Quantitative Methods) consists of 90 credits of Core units and 30 credits of Option units.

Semester 1

CORE units (30 credits)

• Becoming a Quantitative Research

• Applied Quantitative Dissertation (Semester 1&2)

OPTIONS: Choose ONE from the list below:

1. Delivering Justice for Women

2. Global Justice and Crime Control

3. Working with Offenders

4. Politics of Imprisonment

5. Body, Sexuality and Culture

6. Styles, Tribes, Rituals and Resistance

7. Space, Place and Crime

8. Dissertation - option for BA Semester 1&2

*OPTION units are all 30 credits

Semester 2

CORE units (30 credits)

• Social Science Futures

Semester 1 Option Descriptions

On the following pages, you’ll find descriptions of the indicative content and focus of each of the Options offered in Semester 1.

1. Delivering Justice for Women

2. Global Justice and Crime Control

3. Working with Offenders

4. Politics of Imprisonment

5. Body, Sexuality and Culture

6. Styles, Tribes, Rituals and Resistance

7. Space, Place and Crime

8. Dissertation - option for BA Semester 1&2

Delivering Justice for Women

Unit Leads

Content

Assessment

Becky Clarke

r.clarke@mmu.ac.uk

Kathryn Chadwick k.chadwick@mmu.ac.uk

• What is it to be ‘male’ or ‘female’? How do these constructs change over time and place?

• What are the normative expectations of femininity and masculinity? What happens when people deviate from these social norms?

• How do these norms and constructs shape responses to ‘crime’ and harm?

• Why is sexual violence across the globe so deeply gendered? Why are victims of sexual or domestic violence so rarely protected from such harms, or served ‘justice’?

• What is justice and how does it relate to equality, fairness and protection?

• How do structural relations and inequalities, such as gender, sexuality, racialisation, age, etc. intersect to shape experiences of harm and (in)justice?

• What have been the contributions of women to challenging injustice?

• If we were able to deliver justice to women, how might that affect everyone in society?

Assessment 1 (25%)

Portfolio - Outline

Assessment 2 (75%)

Portfolio - Blogs

Semester 1 Option Global Justice and Crime Control

Unit Lead

Content

Assessment

Samantha Fletcher

s.fletcher@mmu.ac.uk

This unit considers matters of crime control and justice in a global context exploring the trends, continuities, ebbs and flows of developments in this area, from the historical to a contemporary context. The unit uncovers and examines a series of issues, tensions, and possibilities on a global scale using a series of illustrations. These include, but are not limited to, trafficking (human/sex/antiques/animals), cybercrime, food crime and security and environmental destruction and catastrophe. In addition, the unit will examine responses to these ‘crimes’ and harms ranging from policing and surveillance to non-governmental organisation work and transformative justice. The unit covers a range of perspectives that open up spaces to reimagine and better understand the complex relationships and power dynamics between a series of ‘legitimate’ (states and corporations) and ‘illegitimate’ actors (‘mafias’ and organised crime groups).

Assessment 1 (25%)

Portfolio - Infographic

Assessment 2 (75%)

Portfolio - Essay

Semester 1 Option

Working with Offenders

Unit Lead

Content

Anne-Marie Day

Anne-Marie.Day@mmu.ac.uk

The unit aims to give you a feel for what ‘working with offenders’ means in practice: what do they actually do with offenders on Probation, or supervised by Youth Offending Teams, or in prison? What would it be like for you if you were doing that work? We will look at what works and what doesn’t and how we know this. How is evidence generated and why is some evidence more reliable than other evidence. The criminal justice sector has been subject to lots of reforms in recent years and these have had an impact on the organisations that work with people with convictions and we will look at some of these. The unit will feature talks and interviews from people working in the criminal justice system as well as current research that the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit are undertaking.

Assessment Assessment 1 (30%) Small Group Presentation

Delivery Method Weekly workshop

Guest Speakers Yes

Assessment 2 (70%) Essay

Unit Lead

Content

Assessment

Kathryn Chadwick

k.chadwick@mmu.ac.uk

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a prison is like? Or, what it is like to be a prisoner in England and Wales and how this may differ across the world? You may be considering working in prison as a Prison Officer, Probation Officer or in offender management. This unit gives you the opportunity to ask and find answers to all these questions. We invite a range of guest speakers with prison/punishment-related expertise, prison staff and former prisoners to the University to discuss key themes, issues, roles and experiences. Alongside these more practical aspects we will critically examine the functions, purpose, and justifications for the use of punishment and imprisonment. The unit will examine contemporary issues to develop a critical understanding of punishment, social control, and imprisonment. Focus will be given to: prison design, conditions and regimes; prison expansionism; children in prison; women in prison; the use of drugs; ‘race’/ethnicity and foreign national prisoners; mental health; POCA and punishment; national and international perspectives; the politics of abolition.

Assessment 1 (25%)

Annotated Bibliography

Assessment 2 (75%) Group Presentation

Semester 1 Option

Body, Sexuality and Culture

Unit Lead

Content

Assessment

Christian Klesse

c.klesse@mmu.ac.uk

This unit focuses on normative ideas concerning body shape, gender and desire. How could a cultural ideal emerge, according to which every person is expected to be heterosexual? How do discourses on biology support the commonly held belief that there are only two sexes (male and female) and two forms of ‘sexual orientation’ (heterosexual or homosexual)? Why do societies struggle to come to terms with and to accommodate gender and sexual diversity. The unit introduces debates on body, sexuality and culture. It looks at key debates and concepts from within academic feminism and queer theory and explores controversies around body, sexuality and culture. Topics covered address issues such as sexual identities and behaviours, gender identities and gender presentation, contemporary intimacies, embodiment, cultural difference, intersectional gender and sexual politics (exclusion, inequality, rights claims, etc.). The unit explores diversity with regards to sexuality, gender and embodiment.

Assessment

Semester 1 Option

Styles, Tribes, Rituals and Resistance

Unit Leads

Julia Owen

j.b.owen@mmu.ac.uk

Katie Milestone k.l.milestone@mmu.ac.uk

Content This unit focuses on the sociological and cultural analysis of British youth subcultures from the subcultures of Teddy Boys, Mods, Rockers, Skinheads, Northern Soulsters, Punks and New Romantics through to the more contemporary youth cultures of last 25 years. The unit will explore:

• The extent to which membership of subcultures historically offered working class young people a collective identity and sense of power, as acts of resistance to dominant mainstream cultures.

• The social, political and economic context from which subcultures emerged, and the generational and class conflicts and contradictions created by social, political and cultural change.

• The relationships between youth subculture membership to Place, Social Class, Ethnicity and Gender.

• The meanings, values and symbolic associations conveyed through fashion, style, music, ‘scenes,’ and consumption patterns.

• The dual role played by the Media in the amplification and diffusion of youth subcultures but also its dilution of original symbolic meanings and authenticity.

• The commodification of youth subcultures, and the complex relationship individual youth consumers have with commodities, industries, and social media platforms.

We use a range of materials including documentaries, films, cultural commentators, Youth and cultural museums and exhibitions, and testimonials of those who were youth subculture members and participants.

Assessment

Assessment 1 (30%)

Project

Assessment 2 (70%) Essay

Semester 1 Option Space, Place and Crime

Unit Lead

Content

Mark Ellison

m.ellison@mmu.ac.uk

Why do crimes cluster in particular places? How can understanding this support policing and other services in the endeavour to reduce crime? To help answer these questions we integrate environmental theories of crime with policing and administrative data, and the practical application of crime mapping. This enables us to explore the criminology of place.

This unit introduces the practice of spatial crime analysis, providing an introduction to geographical information systems (GIS), crime datasets and methods of hotspot mapping to describe the patterns of crime across the city. This unit will examine how spatial crime analysis is utilised for policing and crime reduction. The unit will also examine the relevance of environmental criminological theory in support of this endeavour.

In studying this module, you will learn new software, you will develop a more nuanced appreciation of environmental criminology. Including those factors which bring together the what, why, where, when and who of the crime question: What crimes have a spatio-temporal patterning? Why crimes vary across space? Where and when does this occur? And, who is involved?

This module is very technical - Students will learn and use a Mapping software (QGIS) to manage data (from police.uk and other sources inc. Census) to produce maps which visualise and support the understanding of patterns of crime across space.

The unit will cover the following topics:

• An overview of Environmental Criminology Theories (Social Disorganisation, Collective Efficacy, Rational Choice, Routine Activity, Crime Pattern and Geometry of Crime).

• An examination of the key datasets to understand criminology of place (inc. recorded crime, police incidents, Crime Survey of England & Wales (CSEW), Ordnance Survey and socio-economic datasets).

• An introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and hotspot mapping methods.

• An overview of how crime mapping is utilised by law enforcement agencies.

• An introduction of some of the contemporary themes in Environmental Criminology.

Assessment Portfolio (20%)

This part of the assessment will evaluate students’ skills on the usage of geographical information system (GIS) software for hotspot mapping. A series of data management and hotspot mapping tasks will be completed and presented as a portfolio for submission.

Final Report (80%)

The assignment will be in the form of a 2,500-word report from a fixed choice that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and critical awareness of criminological theory and the application of hotspot mapping in a law enforcement context.

Delivery Method

Guest Speakers

Teaching will be 4 hours face-to-face delivery and directed independent learning.

Face to face teaching

• Lecture – once a week (weeks 1-11)

• Labs – weeks 1 to 6 – learning QGIS Software / Excel software to manage data, develop maps and charts.

• Seminars – weeks 7 -11

Yes

Semester 1 & 2 Option Dissertation

Unit Lead

Content

Assessment

Shafqat Nasir

s.j.nasir@mmu.ac.uk

The dissertation unit is different to others as you are working on your own. The unit is a mixture of one-to-one tutorials with your dissertation supervisor, supporting workshops, and selfdirected study. You will be working on your dissertation for the whole of the academic year.

The dissertation enables you to:

• Explore a substantive area in depth, building on all you have learnt in the first two years.

• Define your own research question, aims and objectives.

• Experience the process of producing knowledge firsthand.

• Manage a major academic project from beginning to end.

• Consolidate your communication, information-seeking and intellectual skills.

Option prerequisites:

• Minimum 2:2 (55%) average mark for 2nd year units

• Form available on Moodle

• Send to: s.j.nasir@mmu.ac.uk

If you do not meet these prerequisites, you will take an alternative option.

Assessment 1 (100%) 10,000 word Dissertation

Semester 2 Option Descriptions

On the following pages, you’ll find descriptions of the indicative content and focus of each of the Options offered in Semester 2.

1. Diversity, Difference and the Limits of Criminology

2. Class Conflict

3. Sociological Psychology

Semester 2 Option

Diversity, Difference, and (the limits of) Criminology

Unit Lead

Content

Delivery Method

Jessica Elias

J.Elias@mmu.ac.uk

On close inspection, evidence suggest that the criminal justice system (CJS) of England and Wales disproportionately affects a particular cohort of the population with harmful effects. Racially, socially and economically marginalised groups and communities are at increased risks of becoming identified and in turn, regulated by the increasingly complex apparatus of the CJS. Despite the implementation of government legislation to protect the rights of citizens, our social and personal characteristics, such as age, gender, ‘race’ and ethnicity, sexuality, (dis)ability, religion and belief, class, socio-economic and educational status, further exposes many to experiences of differential treatment, surveillance and criminal regulation. Relatedly, formal responses to ‘crime’ and criminality may in and of itself be debilitating to members of contemporary society. Throughout the DDLC unit we will consider a series of questions to surface the (personal, cultural and structural) factors that drive disproportionality, differential treatment which leads to the over- and under- punishment of marginalised groups and communities within the justice system. At its heart then, DDLC subjects the discipline of Criminology to academic scrutiny in order to evaluate the contributions of criminological theories to the (re)production of the criminal.

In the DDLC unit we investigate the contention that criminal justice and law enforcement policies and practices premised as they are on criminological evidence, are ineffective at addressing ‘crime’ and criminality. Provocatively, contemporary responses to crime are informed by theoretical positions that progress mainstream/administrative explanations of crime causation, ignore the significance of unequal structural factors, and serves to consolidate articulations of the criminal Other.

Sessions will run once a week and have a combined lecture and seminar format. Students taking the unit will be together for all sessions. This is a taught module, so all sessions will be held in-person.

Semester 2 Option Class Conflict:

Unit Leads

Content

Helene Snee

h.snee@mmu.ac.uk

Chris Porter

c.porter@mmu.ac.uk

This unit considers social class as vital in understanding inequalities and crises in capitalist societies. How might class theory help us understand life in the 21st Century? How does class intersect with inequalities and identities like race and gender? What do we even mean when we use the term ‘social class’?

The unit will review and discuss theories, debates and controversies in class analysis. We will look at the structuring force of class in different areas of social life including education, culture and consumption, and relationships. Your assessments will ask you to apply class analysis to explore a particular social issue or problem, and to evaluate the importance of class analysis to the understanding of inequalities and struggles in contemporary social life.

Although we will be exploring the real life, material consequences of class inequalities, we will also consider the transformative potential of class conflict and how it can generate political struggles, resistance and social change.

Semester 2 Option

Sociological Psychology

Unit Lead

Content

Assessment

Dave Calvey

d.calvey@mmu.ac.uk

This unit critically explores concepts and research in the broad and hybrid field of sociological psychology, focusing on the self, identity, emotion and social interaction. The unit is particularly concerned with stigma, deviant bodies and extreme lifestyles.

The first part of the unit explores the theoretical scaffolding, including the work of Milgram, Goffman, Becker, Hochschild, Cohen, Lyng, Bourdieu and Wacquant. The second part applies their popular concepts to a range of contexts including bouncers, erotic dancers, recreational bingers and clubbers, football hooligans, ballet dancers, body builders, boxers, MMA fighters and offensive stand-up comedians. The emphasis will be on making sense of the everyday life of the actors in various sub-cultural contexts and their rituals, practices, social rules and rationalizations.

Assessment 1 (25%) Multiple-Choice-Test (Online)

Assessment 2 (75%) Essay

Appendix

1. Dissertation Proposal Form

2. Guidance notes for dissertation proposal form

Further info on moodle.

FULL NAME

MMU EMAIL ADDRESS

DEGREE ROUTE Crim | Soc |Crim-Soc

Subject Area Criminology Sociology

Topic Area

Potential Research Question

Preliminary key literature

Data Collection Approach Library based PrimaryQualitative Primary - Mixed method SecondaryQualitative

This is only for students wishing to take the Dissertation unit as an option on the BA route. For those students on the BSC, the Applied Quantitative Project is compulsory and the Q-Step will be in touch about next steps later in the year.

Semester 2 Option

Guidance Notes for Dissertation Proposal Form

Dissertation Topic

First consider the general area of your dissertation. A dissertation offers you the opportunity to explore an area that you are interested in whilst working closely with an expert on the area. A dissertation is a place in which you can explore an idea in greater depth through appropriate supervision and support.

What is your chosen topic? This can be in the form of a question or statement. Can you describe this in a few sentences? What is it that interests you about this area?

Sources of Information

Where will your primary sources come from? Typically, your primary source would be directly accessed data through methods such as interviews, surveys, focus groups.

Where will your secondary sources come from? Secondary sources are usually materials that have already been published. They typically include books and articles. You may need help from the library. List at least five sources that include key books or journal articles on your chosen topic.

Ethical Considerations

Are there any ethical issues that might arise from your study, for example access to specific groups of the population who are vulnerable? Issues around ensuring anonymity? Concerns about psychological or physical harm to yourself (as the researcher) or your participants?

Once you have completed this, please save this file with your SurnameSDProposal and email it to s.j.nasir@mmu.ac.uk.

Please note that acceptance of your proposal will be subject to the quality of your submission.

Copies of the dissertation proposal form can be found on Moodle, on ‘The Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Programme’ > Options