JSB171 Understanding Justice and Inequality
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | JSB171 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,174 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,020 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,456 |
| International unit fee | $4,932 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | JSB171 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Coordinator: | Michael Flood | m.flood@qut.edu.au |
Overview
An understanding and appreciation of justice and injustice across Australian society, including within its social, political, and legal institutions, is a key competency for competent justice professionals. This unit provides the necessary foundational sociological and criminological knowledge to understand justice in a social context, how inequality in Australia is produced, and the intersections between social, criminal, and legal justice. Such an understanding is essential to ensure that justice professionals act in socially just and ethical ways and are equipped to engage with justice issues in the real world.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Describe the key theoretical concepts used to understand social justice and inequality.
- Explain how different groups in Australia experience inequality in a wide range of contexts, and how this impacts on their interactions with social institutions.
- Evaluate debates about justice and recommend evidence-based approaches to redressing structural inequality and achieving social justice.
- Communicate justice and social issues surrounding inequality professionally and inclusively with peers and other professionals.
- Critically reflect on one’s own biases related to structural inequality.
Content
This unit covers the following:
- Justice and Injustice
- Space, Place, and Time
- Class, Race, and Sex
- Poverty
- Indigenous Australians
- Women
- Transgender People
- Sexuality
- Criminal Justice
- Human Rights and Citizenship
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- lectures (on-campus and online)
- tutorials (on-campus)
- chat sessions (online)
- discussion forums
- readings and video sources
- embedded support for research and writing skills.
This unit will employ scenario and case based learning activities.
This unit will challenge preconceived ideas about the ways in which Australian society functions and your own position within such a society. Given the nature of the professional work and clientele with which justice professionals will engage, it is imperative that you understand society from positions other than your 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
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- self assessment and reflection on personal values and biases
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included on criteria sheets with your grade
- generic comments posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas website.
Assessment
Overview
There are three assessments in this unit:
1. Discussion Activities - this task connects the key concepts covered in this unit with the views and ideas of yourself and your peers in discussion activities.
2. Poster presentation - this task draws on concepts about the inequalities faced by particular groups to produce a poster and record yourself presenting it.
3. Interactive dialogue - this task draws on reflections on your own values and biases, and the concepts covered in this unit about structural inequality for specific groups and contexts to engage in an interactive dialogue with a member of the teaching team.
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.) + rationale
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
Assessment: Poster presentation
You will take on the role of a researcher to compile a poster presentation providing an overview of the inequality faced by an identified group. You have been asked to compile the research on this group and record your presentation for sharing with professionals in the justice sector for the purposes of professional development.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Interactive dialogue
You will engage in an interactive dialogue discussing and reflecting on structural inequality in the group that you considered in Assessment 2. You will explore the ways that structural inequality is produced in your chosen context, how it leads to inequality for your chosen group, and how structural inequality might be addressed in that context.
You will participate in your interactive dialogue at a scheduled time and respond to questions from a member of the teaching team.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
The following resource is prescribed and available at the QUT Bookshop. Other resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
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.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JS34 Bachelor of Justice
- Apply social and criminal justice principles to explain justice issues and contexts.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Discussion Activities , Poster presentation, Interactive dialogue - Collect and analyse evidence to inform decisions and recommendations in justice systems.
Relates to: ULO3, Interactive dialogue - Apply culturally safe and inclusive approaches to work with diverse communities and people as a Justice professional.
Relates to: ULO3, Interactive dialogue - Communicate justice and social issues in respectful, professional and ethical ways with other professionals and stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO4, Discussion Activities , Poster presentation - Reflect on personal values and professional practice to articulate a professional identity.
Relates to: ULO5, Interactive dialogue
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Online
| Unit code: | JSB171 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
Overview
An understanding and appreciation of justice and injustice across Australian society, including within its social, political, and legal institutions, is a key competency for competent justice professionals. This unit provides the necessary foundational sociological and criminological knowledge to understand justice in a social context, how inequality in Australia is produced, and the intersections between social, criminal, and legal justice. Such an understanding is essential to ensure that justice professionals act in socially just and ethical ways and are equipped to engage with justice issues in the real world.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Describe the key theoretical concepts used to understand social justice and inequality.
- Explain how different groups in Australia experience inequality in a wide range of contexts, and how this impacts on their interactions with social institutions.
- Evaluate debates about justice and recommend evidence-based approaches to redressing structural inequality and achieving social justice.
- Communicate justice and social issues surrounding inequality professionally and inclusively with peers and other professionals.
- Critically reflect on one’s own biases related to structural inequality.
Content
This unit covers the following:
- Justice and Injustice
- Space, Place, and Time
- Class, Race, and Sex
- Poverty
- Indigenous Australians
- Women
- Transgender People
- Sexuality
- Criminal Justice
- Human Rights and Citizenship
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- lectures (on-campus and online)
- tutorials (on-campus)
- chat sessions (online)
- discussion forums
- readings and video sources
- embedded support for research and writing skills.
This unit will employ scenario and case based learning activities.
This unit will challenge preconceived ideas about the ways in which Australian society functions and your own position within such a society. Given the nature of the professional work and clientele with which justice professionals will engage, it is imperative that you understand society from positions other than your 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
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- self assessment and reflection on personal values and biases
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included on criteria sheets with your grade
- generic comments posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas website.
Assessment
Overview
There are three assessments in this unit:
1. Discussion Activities - this task connects the key concepts covered in this unit with the views and ideas of yourself and your peers in discussion activities.
2. Poster presentation - this task draws on concepts about the inequalities faced by particular groups to produce a poster and record yourself presenting it.
3. Interactive dialogue - this task draws on reflections on your own values and biases, and the concepts covered in this unit about structural inequality for specific groups and contexts to engage in an interactive dialogue with a member of the teaching team.
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.) + rationale
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
Assessment: Poster presentation
You will take on the role of a researcher to compile a poster presentation providing an overview of the inequality faced by an identified group. You have been asked to compile the research on this group and record your presentation for sharing with professionals in the justice sector for the purposes of professional development.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Interactive dialogue
You will engage in an interactive dialogue discussing and reflecting on structural inequality in the group that you considered in Assessment 2. You will explore the ways that structural inequality is produced in your chosen context, how it leads to inequality for your chosen group, and how structural inequality might be addressed in that context.
You will participate in your interactive dialogue at a scheduled time and respond to questions from a member of the teaching team.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
The following resource is prescribed and available at the QUT Bookshop. Other resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
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.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JS34 Bachelor of Justice
- Apply social and criminal justice principles to explain justice issues and contexts.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Discussion Activities , Poster presentation, Interactive dialogue - Collect and analyse evidence to inform decisions and recommendations in justice systems.
Relates to: ULO3, Interactive dialogue - Apply culturally safe and inclusive approaches to work with diverse communities and people as a Justice professional.
Relates to: ULO3, Interactive dialogue - Communicate justice and social issues in respectful, professional and ethical ways with other professionals and stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO4, Discussion Activities , Poster presentation - Reflect on personal values and professional practice to articulate a professional identity.
Relates to: ULO5, Interactive dialogue