CRI-30048 - Module Specification
School of Social, Political and Global Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

Mass immigration is perhaps one of the most controversial and contested topics of contemporary times. Popular discourse often considers immigration to be a threat to national security and as depleting the country¿s resources. Immigrants themselves are all too often cast as `aliens¿, `demons¿, and `outsiders¿ in the communities they settle; being considered a `crime-prone¿ population. Some key examples of this include the `Italian mafia¿ in America; the `racialised¿ discourse of immigration and crime during the post-war era of immigration; Eastern European immigration more recently along with the referendum on Brexit which has revitalised this debate.
The association of immigration with rising crime, disorder and insecurity has not only featured prominently in popular discourse however, it has also been a topic of interest in criminological and sociological literature throughout the last 100 years and continues to be so today. The aim of this module is to challenge and critically assess the `conventional wisdom¿ on the association between immigration and rising crime. Is a dystopian nightmare of violence, chaos and disorder the inevitable consequence of mass immigration? Or can groups live together in harmony in diverse communities? Are immigrants a `crime-prone¿ and `dangerous¿ population or merely perceived as such? Do immigrants themselves have negative experiences as victims of prejudice and hate crime? Can mass immigration actually have the potential to bring benefits to communities, ultimately reducing the local crime rate? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this module, which explores some of the most up to date and cutting edge research on this topic that turns both the old established theories, as well as common public assumptions, on their head.

- To introduce students to the key debates surrounding the link between immigration and crime.
- To consider the range of perspectives through which this controversial connection between immigration and crime can be explored.
- To enable students to critically evaluate established criminological and sociological theories of immigration as a disruption to social order and apply to contemporary social environments.
- To enable students to engage critically with theories of social control and how they are applied in research on immigration and crime.
- To appreciate the complexity of challenges facing such local criminal justice institutions as the police in engaging with diverse communities for crime control purposes.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Apply the key theoretical perspectives on immigration and its relationship with crime and disorder: 1
Engage critically with theories of social control and how they are applied in research on immigration and crime: 1
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the particular challenges facing such local criminal justice institutions as the police in engaging with diverse communities for crime control purposes: 1
Critically evaluate established criminological and sociological theories of immigration as a disruption to social order and apply to contemporary social environments: 1
Apply broader criminological debates to a case study example of immigration: 1
Use internet sources to locate information relating to case studies and be able to evaluate, summarise and synthesise such information: 1
Demonstrate critical awareness of how immigration is represented in popular discourse relating to crime and disorder: 1
Identify the range of perspectives through which the connection between immigration and crime can be explored: 1

Study hours

10 hours tutorials
10 hours lectures
38 hours tutorial preparation
32 hours independent study
60 hours assessment preparation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment