JSB171 Justice and Society


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Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Unit code:JSB171
Credit points:12
Equivalent:JSB131, JSB011, JSB101
Coordinator:Matthew Ball | mj.ball@qut.edu.au
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.

Overview

An understanding and appreciation of the complexities of social justice, and particularly their impact on criminal justice outcomes in our society, is a key skill for competent justice professionals. This unit provides the foundational sociological and criminological knowledge that is necessary to understanding justice in a social context, and which is essential for ensuring justice professionals act in socially just and ethical ways.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

  1. Describe the key theoretical concepts and legal instruments within the fields of social and criminal justice. (CLO 1.1, 1.2, 2.4)
  2. Apply theoretical concepts to explain how social justice or injustice has been variously experienced by different groups within Australian contexts and impacts on their interactions with the criminal justice system. (CLO 2.2, 2.3, 4.2)
  3. Use reflection to evaluate and recommend evidence-based approaches and legal instruments which could redress structural inequality and social injustice for specific groups (CLO 2.3, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1).
  4. Demonstrate effective communication skills for professional and academic purposes in written and/or oral modes (CLO 3.1, 3.3)

Content

Module 1: Thinking About Justice

Justice and Injustice
Space, Place, and Time
Class, Race, and Sex

Module 2: Social and Criminal Justice

Poverty
Indigenous Australians
Women
Transgender People
Sexuality

Module 3: Achieving Justice

Criminal Justice 
Human Rights and Citizenship 

Learning Approaches

This unit incorporates a variety of different learning and teaching approaches, including both online and face-to-face modes. There is a one-hour lecture every week throughout the semester for all students. The lectures will introduce students to the basic information as well as introduce video and other media for viewing and consideration. The overall approach taken is that of blended learning, featuring a range of online and other learning experiences. The blended approach effects integration of different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning, and draws on modes of web-based technology, self-paced instruction, collaborative learning, streaming audio, video, text and so on. It also combines instructional technology with actual job tasks to create a harmonious blend of learning and authentic work tasks in keeping with the ethos of the course as applied.

The lectures will be supplemented by one-hour tutorials (for all internal students) or frequent online discussion forums and chat sessions (for all online students), where students will be encouraged to reflect on and clarify the issues raised in the unit content and lectures. These will be supplemented by structured learning activities posted on the Canvas site every week for all students to complete at their own pace, offering opportunities for more in-depth explorations of the material for each week.

For many students, this unit will challenge preconceived ideas about the ways in which Australian society functions and their own position within such a society. Given the nature of the professional work and clientele with which justice graduates will be engaging, it is imperative that they understand society from positions other than their own. This forms the basis of developing inter-cultural competence. This unit will make extensive use of the popular media to encourage discussion and debate about controversial issues that impact upon people from different cultures and classes.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Students will receive feedback in various forms throughout the semester, which may include:

  • informal: worked examples, such as verbal feedback in class, personal consultation
  • formal: in writing, eg criteria sheets, written commentary
  • direct: to individual students, either in written form or in consultation
  • indirect: to the whole class.

Assessment

Overview

This unit comprises of formative and summative assessment.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Discussion Activities

This task will assess your engagement with unit materials and learning activities as demonstrated through class discussions (for internal students) or online (for external students) through the whole semester. Key to this task is critical engagement with the main concepts of the unit through a variety of tutorial discussions. (You will be given formative learning activities in class, particularly early in the semester, in order to provide feedback and assess your own engagement with the unit concepts.)

Weight: 20
Length: Discussions are required - guidance will be given in class
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Weeks 2 - 13
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 4

Assessment: Report

You are required to choose one of the key groups explored in module 2 and must compile a brief report offering a broad snapshot of the kinds of disadvantage and injustice that this group experiences in Australian society, and the barriers that are placed on the achievement of equality for this group. This kind of report mirrors the kinds of reports that you will be asked to complete in a range of professional contexts. This is a structured task, and you will be given guidance as to the kinds of information that you need to include and the key points you need to consider.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 40
Length: 1000 words
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 6
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 4

Assessment: Essay

You are required to choose one of the key approaches to achieving justice explored in module 3 and write an essay in which you critically discuss that approach from the 'perspective' of the key group that chose to analyse this in the previous assessment. You must explore why that approach to achieving justice is important for the group you are looking at, discuss your group's experiences of this approach to achieving justice (including barriers to access), and make suggestions as to how this approach might be altered to ensure that justice is achieved. (This is an opportunity for students to think critically and write in an essay format as opposed to the more descriptive approach taken in the report.)

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 40
Length: 1500 words
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 13
Related Unit learning outcomes: 2, 3, 4

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Students are advised to make use of a wide variety of resources on QUT Readings, available on the unit Canvas site, or via the QUT Library homepage.

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Carpenter, B and Ball, M (2018) Justice in Society. Federation Press: Australia. 2nd Edition This is available in the QUT bookshop.

Risk Assessment Statement

Students are advised that some content in justice units may be confronting. If you are concerned that the content of a unit may impact your completion of the course, please see the unit coordinator. You can also access free student counselling through QUT Counselling via the QUT Student Homepage.