Course Title: Foundations of Criminology

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Foundations of Criminology

Credit Points: 12


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

SOCU2064

City Campus

Undergraduate

365H Global, Urban and Social Studies

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2007,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 1 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 1 2015,
Sem 1 2016,
Sem 1 2017

Course Coordinator: Dr Greg Stratton

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3021

Course Coordinator Email: gregory.stratton@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

In this course, you will examine the foundations of criminology. The course begins with a description of crime rates and trends in Australia, and its comparison with other Western nations. The lectures focus on information that criminological research has discovered about the crime phenomenon. This includes how crime is variously typed, researched and categorised by criminologists; what its trends are, and what characteristics officially apprehended offenders possess in terms of various social and personal correlates. The course draws on various insights of historical, contemporary, and leading thinkers in the field.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • classify the various taxonomies of crime, and their problems;
  • analyse the various trends in types of crime (both traditional and emerging) in Australia;
  • outline the personal and situational correlates of criminal behaviour;
  • show the possible ways in which personal and social correlates interact, and;
  • hypothesise future possible trends in crime and the important role of criminological research in charting its course.
     


In this course, you will develop the following graduate capabilities:

  • Communication
  • Effective management and use of information


Overview of Learning Activities

These learning outcomes are best attained through prepared, active participation. You will be expected to prepare for lectures and tutorials by completing the required readings, which will also enable you to make informed contributions to class discussion. Tutorial discussions will be based on the content of the lecture as well as set reading material relevant to the weekly topics. You will be encouraged to reflect on the content of these weekly topics through essays and tutorial presentations


Overview of Learning Resources

There is a prescribed text for this course. RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the learning outcomes of the course and on your development against the program capabilities. Assessment may include examinations, group work, tutorial presentations, and essay writing. Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
 

  • If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.
  • A student charter http://www.rmit.edu.au/about/studentcharter summarises your responsibilities as an RMIT student as well as those of your teachers.
  • Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions which are available for review online: http://www.rmit.edu.au/policies/academic#assessment