Sociology and Essay Titles
Essay Titles and Requirements
One 2,500 word essay (50%) demonstrating a sound understanding of one of the key themes raised in the module, and a critical awareness of the structural and socio-political context within which it is set.
Essay Titles
Please answer one of the following questions:
1. “The [2003 Criminal Justice] Act sets out for the first time the purposes of sentencing, which includes reform, rehabilitation, reparation, as well as punishment and deterrence”. Critically analyse how the act supports or deviates from the retributive (just deserts) philosophy of punishment.
2. Drawing on both utilitarian and retributive philosophies of punishment, assess critically the notion that punishment of offenders can only be morally justified on the grounds that it is designed to prevent future crimes.
3. Compare and contrast Marx and Foucauldian analyses of punishment and the rise of the prison.
4. Punishment of offenders has changed dramatically over the past 300 years. Discuss how the use and aims of imprisonment has changed in this time. You may choose a specific period in time (e.g. 18th – 19th Century) and focus on any two of the six aims of punishment - ensure you rationalise your choice.
5. “The needs of child prisoners are necessarily neglected. Moreover, the conditions and treatment typically endured by child prisoners routinely violate their emotional, psychological and physical integrity: they are profoundly damaging and harmful” (Goldson, 2006:456). Discuss.
6. How does the experience of imprisonment differ for ethnic minorities? Is a sentence of imprisonment even more punitive for an ethnic minority offender?
Word Count: 2,500 words Deadline: 4pm Monday 08th February 2010
Submission
You must submit a paper copy of your essay to the Student Advice Shop in Ely (D) Block. However, in addition, an electronic copy must be submitted via TurnItIn on the module’s Blackboard
One 2,500 word essay (50%) demonstrating a sound understanding of one of the key themes raised in the module, and a critical awareness of the structural and socio-political context within which it is set.
Essay Titles
Please answer one of the following questions:
1. “The [2003 Criminal Justice] Act sets out for the first time the purposes of sentencing, which includes reform, rehabilitation, reparation, as well as punishment and deterrence”. Critically analyse how the act supports or deviates from the retributive (just deserts) philosophy of punishment.
2. Drawing on both utilitarian and retributive philosophies of punishment, assess critically the notion that punishment of offenders can only be morally justified on the grounds that it is designed to prevent future crimes.
3. Compare and contrast Marx and Foucauldian analyses of punishment and the rise of the prison.
4. Punishment of offenders has changed dramatically over the past 300 years. Discuss how the use and aims of imprisonment has changed in this time. You may choose a specific period in time (e.g. 18th – 19th Century) and focus on any two of the six aims of punishment - ensure you rationalise your choice.
5. “The needs of child prisoners are necessarily neglected. Moreover, the conditions and treatment typically endured by child prisoners routinely violate their emotional, psychological and physical integrity: they are profoundly damaging and harmful” (Goldson, 2006:456). Discuss.
6. How does the experience of imprisonment differ for ethnic minorities? Is a sentence of imprisonment even more punitive for an ethnic minority offender?
Word Count: 2,500 words Deadline: 4pm Monday 08th February 2010
Submission
You must submit a paper copy of your essay to the Student Advice Shop in Ely (D) Block. However, in addition, an electronic copy must be submitted via TurnItIn on the module’s Blackboard