Punishment in the society
Summative assessment : Essay (2000 words)
By the end of the unit, students will be able to:
- Evaluate justifications for punishment and the challenge posed by abolitionist critiques.
- Synthesise and critique a range of theoretical perspectives which explain the nature of punishment and how punishment in societies has evolved.
- Understand different types of punishment used in contemporary society and its impact on particular groups.
- Reflect on how punishment is shaped by political economy.
- Write a well-argued, clear and accurate document.
Type of Assessment: Essay
Students should write a 2000 word essay answering one of the following questions:
- Drawing on Sim’s article (2016) on prisons’ budget cuts during austerity, critically discuss the following quote: “The current [prison] crisis has been relentlessly tied to the budget cuts. While the cuts have intensified the crisis, they are not its cause”.
- How do race and / or gender affect the ‘pains of imprisonment’?
- What is ‘penal populism’ and how has it influenced punishment in England and Wales over the last 30 years?
- Choose ONE of the theoretical perspectives on punishment we have studied: Durkheimian, Marxist, Foucauldian, or feminist. Critically evaluate the Prison Industrial Complex using your chosen theory.
Formatting guidance:
- Essay should be typed using: font size 12; font type Arial, Calibri or Times; 1.5 line spacing
- Harvard referencing
