CRI-30049 - Module Specification
School of Social, Political and Global Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

Why do people take drugs? Who takes drugs? How is drug use understood within societies? and how do societies respond to drug use? These are just some of the questions that this exciting new third year module will introduce you to as we explore the key debates, theoretical perspectives and differing responses that surround drug misuse.
In recent decades drug use has become the subject of both official and media attentions. This module will begin by introducing students to the various ways in which drug use has been understood and responded to. We will begin by tracing the origins of drug use through an examination of how drugs and drug users were perceived during the 19th century to how they have come to be perceived in recent times. This examination will help us to understand the development of policy and, despite the fact that drugs are used across all sections of society, the recent focus on drug using offenders. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach will help us to understand drug misuse in the UK and elsewhere and will enable students to apply sociological, criminological, historical, psychological and cultural perspectives to the study of drug use, and policy responses to this `social problem¿.

Enable students to apply new and existing subject knowledge and understanding in criminology and related disciplines to the field of drug misuse. This will require students to develop a critical understanding of how drug misuse and its relationship to offending behaviour can be understood. The module also aims to enable students to develop a critical understanding of the different social, political and medical approaches to the treatment of drug misuse and the complexity of challenges facing a wide range of multi-disciplinary agencies (and professionals) tasked with governing drug users and drug using offenders.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Apply existing knowledge of criminology and related disciplines to the field of drug misuse: 1
Critically evaluate the key debates surrounding illicit substances and their impact on society: 1
Demonstrate critical awareness of how drug misuse is represented in popular discourse relating to crime: 1
Critically evaluate the key debates surrounding the links that have been made between drugs and crime: 1
Engage critically with the debates surrounding the effectiveness of national and international policies relating to responses to drug misuse, including abstentionist, harm reduction and coercive approaches: 1
Demonstrate critical understanding of the range of explanations provided for drug misuse from a multi-disciplinary, global and historical perspective: 1

Study hours

21 hours contact (10 x lecture, 10 x seminar, 1 x consultation)
40 hours tutorial preparation
27 hours independent study
62 hours assessment preparation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment