71880 - Crime, Punishment and Society

Learning outcomes

This is a course taught in English for those students from Law, other disciplines, Erasmus or Overseas, who are already cognizant both of the English language and of the basic concepts in Criminology. At the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyse the relationships between migration, deviance and social control; the "new" prevention of crime in urban settings; the sociology of social control and punishment.

Course contents

This is a course in the sociological theories of crime and punishment. The specific object is the relationship between such theories and the broader framework of migration in the European Union. What is the connection between processes of European unification (legal, political, economic and social) and migrants' criminalization - in the two aspects of criminalization, i.e. migrants' participation in criminal behavior, and the construction of migrants as criminal subjects? Some of the theories discussed will be the ecological theory of the Chicago School, differential association theory, the theory of anomie, labelling theory, and the theories of "everyday life".

Readings/Bibliography

Dario Melossi, Crime, Punishment and Migration. London: SAGE (2015).

Dario Melossi, Controlling Crime, Controlling Society: Thinking About Crime in Europe and America. Cambridge (UK): Polity Press, paperback, ISBN: 9780745634296, distribution: Wiley.

(Both books are available in e-book form)

Other readings shall be assigned during the course, according to the topic discussed. Almost all readings are available in “Virtuale”.

Teaching methods

Lectures, class discussions, movies, guest speakers.
During each week, there will be the presentation of the criminological topic and related theory, after which you will be watching the film linked to the topic and, then, there will be the class discussion of the topic and the film.

Assessment methods

Oral exam

Teaching tools

Power point; audio-visual materials (movies)

Office hours

See the website of Stefania Crocitti