CRIM 303

Gender, Crime and Justice


Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for CRIM 303.

Description

Gender is one of the key social dimensions likely to affect experiences of crime, victimisation and criminal justice. Using a combination of readings, lectures, discussions, films and dramas, this course is designed to introduce students to key aspects of the relationship between gender and crime and how gender may mediate experiences and knowledge of, and involvement in, the criminal justice system.

We will begin with a critical discussion of traditional criminological theories and how they have ignored gender concerns and differences, before moving onto feminist criminologies and masculinities and how they have sought to explain gendered offending. The course then briefly looks at the representation of female offenders in the media, before examining the differential treatment and experiences of men and women in the criminal justice system as victims, suspects, offenders and criminal justice professionals.

The course employs an international, comparative approach and students will be exposed to materials from New Zealand, the US, the UK, Australia and elsewhere, and expected to relate them to each other.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Evaluate the contribution of feminism to the field of criminology and our understanding of crime
  • Evaluate the importance of gender to our understanding of criminal behaviour and victimisation
  • Critically analyse representations of men and women as offenders and victims in the media
  • Critically assess the experiences of men and women in the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants, offenders, professionals and victims

View the course syllabus

Availability 2018

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Dr Alice Mills

Reading/Texts

A course reader will be made available if required

Points

CRIM 303: 15 points

Prerequisites

15 points from CRIM 201, 202