This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

ATS2056 - Race, crime and difference

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

Criminology

Coordinator(s)

Dr Claire Spivakovsky

Offered

Caulfield

First semester 2016 (Day)

Clayton

First semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit will examine the ways in which Criminology has dealt with issues of race, difference and inequality in crime and criminal justice. Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical paradigms and empirical approaches for identifying and understanding difference, discrimination, and criminal justice responses to both. In addition, the unit will examine: trends and patterns of offending and victimisation; experiences of criminalisation and discrimination in criminal justice systems for diverse groups; and the increasing and disproportionate representation of Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities and other culturally and ethnically diverse groups in the criminal justice system.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students will have developed:
Awareness of race, ethnicity, gender, disability and other social categories as historically changing constructs;
Awareness of the key ways racism and discrimination can be identified and/or measured, and the implications of these measurements;
Awareness of the key implications of post-colonial and settler-colonial frameworks for Criminology when studying Aboriginal Australian's experiences within historical and contemporary criminal justice contexts;
The skills to analyse and apply a variety of theoretical perspectives on race, diversity and inequality to questions of crime and justice;
The ability to present a fluid and logical argument about the role of discrimination and inequality (with focus on race, ethnicity, gender and disability) in crime and criminal justice.

Upon completion of this subject students will demonstrate the ability to:

Identify the multiple intersections between race, gender, ability and criminal justice;
Formulate a well-structured and organised response to questions of race, crime and difference in writing;
Organise and manage the collection of criminological scholarship, criminal justice policy, and crime data on race, crime and difference;
Communicate an evidence based analysis of historic and contemporary criminological perspectives on race, crime and difference;
Generate and present informed thought and synthesis of scholarship in essay writing and oral discussions.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Exam: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Claire Spivakovsky

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Criminology

Prerequisites

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units. It is highly recommended that students only take this unit after they have completed two gateway units in Criminology.