Drugs, Crime and Deviant Leisure (L3127A)
Drugs, Crime and Deviant Leisure
Module L3127A
Module details for 2022/23.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 5
Module Outline
Taking a broadly cultural-criminological approach, this module will examine the multifaceted concept of drugs and drug use. We will consider it as a cultural phenomenon, a public health concern, a problem for national and international policymakers, a criminal justice issue, and a part of a larger category of transgressive and ‘deviant’ leisure practices. Discussions will be grounded in case studies of particular substances and the cultures and public conversations around them, from the highly stigmatised to the borderline legal. Topics to be addressed include local, global and online drug markets; the role of drugs in the night-time economy; public health and harm reduction approaches; drugs, criminal justice, race and class; and the impact of international drug policy on drug-producing countries in the global South.
Students will be encouraged to think critically and analytically about a variety of public health, legislative and law enforcement responses to the issue of drugs, their underlying assumptions and their current and potential outcomes; and to question the fraught category of ‘drugs’ itself.
Module learning outcomes
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of criminological and sociological theories relating to drugs, deviant leisure and their relationship to crime
Analytically apply criminological theory and research findings to current debates around drugs and crime
Employ macro and micro scales of analysis, from global drug markets and legislation to drug use and leisure practices in everyday life, and appreciate the connections between them
Critically evaluate key public health, policy and law enforcement responses to drugs in the UK and other policy jurisdictions
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (3000 words) | Semester 1 Assessment Week 1 Thu 16:00 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Semester | Lecture | 1 hour | 11111011111 |
| Autumn Semester | Seminar | 1 hour | 11111011111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Dr Dara Ruane
Convenor, Assess convenor
/profiles/557375
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