ATS2469 - Victims, justice and the law - 2017

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 Asher Flynn

Unit guides

Offered

Clayton

  • Second semester 2017 (Day)

Synopsis

The unit considers the concepts of justice, victims and the law as they exist within and beyond the legal system. The unit engages with historical and contemporary perspectives and constructions of these intersecting concepts to explore understandings of crime and criminality, and examine the potentials and limitations of the legal system in practice. Bringing together interdisciplinary approaches from law, criminology and socio-legal studies, this unit considers the relationships between law, justice and victims through the study of: criminal and civil law, restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, public policy, the media, criminal justice procedures, human rights and social change.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit students will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

  1. identify how concepts of victims, justice and the law are constructed in historical and contemporary contexts;
  2. demonstrate research skills using University library and databases to access contemporary scholarship and data to inform written and in class discussions;
  3. demonstrate depth of knowledge and comprehension of key criminological perspectives and concepts involving victims, justice and the law;
  4. communicate well-structured, evidenced and organised responses to contemporary debates involving victims, justice and the law; and
  5. identify and synthesise understandings of justice, victims and the law, including an analysis of their theoretical versus practical application and impacts.

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.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

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

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.

Prohibitions

ATS3469