Hallo world!
The unit got off to a good start this week: the lecture theatre was full, the lecture itself went well and we had some good discussions in the seminars. (Sorry about the early start, by the way - it wasn't my idea!)
I hope the unit is going to build on your existing interest in sociology and/or criminology - and, more importantly, that it will spark off new interests and get you thinking about questions you hadn't previously thought about. If you've got any concerns about the unit, or about Foundation Year in general, don't hesitate to let me know: p.j.edwards@mmu.ac.uk.
The main business of the seminar was talking about what you would like to see covered in the Criminology part of the unit - and what you don't want to see. Here's a quick run-down of the views expressed in all four seminar groups:
Yes please
Victims of crime
Sentencing: who gets what and why
Psychology of crime: why do offenders do it?
How the police force works (past and present)
Anti-social behaviour
Murder and crimes of violence
Gangs
Riots
Domestic violence
No thanks
White-collar crime
The law
Environmental crime
Petty crime
Traffic offences
Yes and No (topics that appeared on both lists)
Crime statistics
The media
Terrorism
Politics
So what does all that add up to? Well, I can guarantee that you will not have to learn about traffic offences - or about white-collar crime, environmental crime, terrorism, politics or the criminal law in general. We will be covering crime statistics and the media (which will please some of you more than others!). Other topics we will definitely cover are sentencing, victims of crime, criminal psychology, the police and anti-social behaviour.
The other suggestions on the 'Yes' list - murder, gangs, riots and domestic violence - are all really interesting topics. There might need to be a few tweaks to the unit to get some of these in - I'll see what I can do.
Many thanks for your ideas! Have fun with the homework task (on Moodle), and I'll see you next Tuesday (bright and early).
- Phil
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