JSB180 Deviance and Social Justice
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: | JSB180 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| CSP student contribution | $2,040 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $957 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 | $3,024 |
| International unit fee | $4,224 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | JSB180 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Coordinator: | Dean Biron | dean.biron@qut.edu.au |
Overview
The study of deviance engages with fundamental aspects of criminology and justice studies, such as the making and breaking of laws, the analysis of issues pertaining to marginalised social groups and activities, and other important social justice concerns. Drawing on problem solving skills and interpretive traditions in the social sciences, the unit encourages students to think critically about "deviance" (often manifesting as a social problem or contested behaviour), asking why some activities and social groups are considered deviant and others not across various historical and cultural contexts. The unit examines social and legal responses to managing and controlling deviance and engages with important related problems in social justice, such as gender equality and racial discrimination. The scope and concerns of the unit make it broadly accessible to students and the unit's focus on real world social problems will appeal to a broad cross-section of QUT's student market.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Analyse the contested nature of definitions of deviance and how deviant behaviour impacts upon wider society, including how deviant behaviours and groups are constructed, managed and contested (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5.1).
- Discuss various sociological and justice studies-based perspectives on deviance and related forms of margalised behaviour (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 3.1).
- Assess the effect of folk and professional conceptions of 'deviance' and 'deviant' on social, criminal, welfare, and business policies in law and government programs (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2).
- Critically evaluate how deviant behaviours and groups are constructed, managed and contested (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5.1).
- Propose evidence-based strategies to manage real world social problems within a social justice framework (CLOs 4.3, 5.1).
- Communicate effectively in academic and professional written formats, applying appropriate information sources, referencing and conventions (CLO 3.1, 3.2, 4.1).
Content
- Situating social problems within historical and cultural contexts
- Introduction to approaches to understanding deviance and the changing conceptions of deviance
- Examination of practices to regulate and manage deviance, including formal and informal forms of social control
- Referring to real world examples, an overview of how and why some activities and social groups are subject to criminalisation
- An overview of how deviance is interpreted and managed in health care systems
- An overview of how deviance is interpreted and managed in criminal justice systems.
Learning Approaches
The unit adopts a blended approach to learning, which involves an hour lecture and an hour tutorial of class and online discussions. The unit adopts a problem-based learning approach in which students are encouraged to identify, observe and analyse acts of deviance in everyday social settings. Students will also be provided with problem scenarios and cases to analyse, being asked to develop strategies to manage real world social problems in groups and individually.
You will be expected to take responsibility for your own learning. Online delivery requires students to listen to the audio lecture recordings and complete set readings.
Everyone is encouraged to develop a commitment to reflect on the practical and applied aspects, as well as to critically evaluate the knowledge, information and understanding derived from the unit content. All students are expected to complete relevant readings and modules available on the learning management system.
A central feature of the approach to teaching and learning for this unit is the embedding of various skills and knowledge that contribute to the five course learning outcomes that you are expected to learn and demonstrate.
Online delivery consists of an hour lecture and an hour weekly online discussion forum.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- Discussion of a range of formative exercises will be discussed in class
- Formative feedback on the first, short written piece
- Feedback on the case study due at the end of the semester
- Criteria sheet grading.
Assessment
Overview
The assessment includes formative and summative assessment.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critical Response
Students are required to critically assess historical and cultural aspects of a specified type of deviant/marginalised behaviour chosen from a list provided.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Case study
You are in the role of a researcher and policy writer for a non-government organisation (NGO). In this role, you have been asked to undertake a case study to investigate a real-world contemporary social problem (form of "deviance") chosen from a list provided. You are required to critically evaluate its social construction, impact, and responses, before proposing in-depth recommendations for future social policy.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
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 will be able to make use of a wide variety of set readings and other resources on QUT Readings, available on the unit Canvas site, or via the QUT Library homepage. There is no required text book for this unit.
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.
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Online
| Unit code: | JSB180 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
Overview
The study of deviance engages with fundamental aspects of criminology and justice studies, such as the making and breaking of laws, the analysis of issues pertaining to marginalised social groups and activities, and other important social justice concerns. Drawing on problem solving skills and interpretive traditions in the social sciences, the unit encourages students to think critically about "deviance" (often manifesting as a social problem or contested behaviour), asking why some activities and social groups are considered deviant and others not across various historical and cultural contexts. The unit examines social and legal responses to managing and controlling deviance and engages with important related problems in social justice, such as gender equality and racial discrimination. The scope and concerns of the unit make it broadly accessible to students and the unit's focus on real world social problems will appeal to a broad cross-section of QUT's student market.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Analyse the contested nature of definitions of deviance and how deviant behaviour impacts upon wider society, including how deviant behaviours and groups are constructed, managed and contested (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5.1).
- Discuss various sociological and justice studies-based perspectives on deviance and related forms of margalised behaviour (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 3.1).
- Assess the effect of folk and professional conceptions of 'deviance' and 'deviant' on social, criminal, welfare, and business policies in law and government programs (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2).
- Critically evaluate how deviant behaviours and groups are constructed, managed and contested (CLOs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5.1).
- Propose evidence-based strategies to manage real world social problems within a social justice framework (CLOs 4.3, 5.1).
- Communicate effectively in academic and professional written formats, applying appropriate information sources, referencing and conventions (CLO 3.1, 3.2, 4.1).
Content
- Situating social problems within historical and cultural contexts
- Introduction to approaches to understanding deviance and the changing conceptions of deviance
- Examination of practices to regulate and manage deviance, including formal and informal forms of social control
- Referring to real world examples, an overview of how and why some activities and social groups are subject to criminalisation
- An overview of how deviance is interpreted and managed in health care systems
- An overview of how deviance is interpreted and managed in criminal justice systems.
Learning Approaches
The unit adopts a blended approach to learning, which involves an hour lecture and an hour tutorial of class and online discussions. The unit adopts a problem-based learning approach in which students are encouraged to identify, observe and analyse acts of deviance in everyday social settings. Students will also be provided with problem scenarios and cases to analyse, being asked to develop strategies to manage real world social problems in groups and individually.
You will be expected to take responsibility for your own learning. Online delivery requires students to listen to the audio lecture recordings and complete set readings.
Everyone is encouraged to develop a commitment to reflect on the practical and applied aspects, as well as to critically evaluate the knowledge, information and understanding derived from the unit content. All students are expected to complete relevant readings and modules available on the learning management system.
A central feature of the approach to teaching and learning for this unit is the embedding of various skills and knowledge that contribute to the five course learning outcomes that you are expected to learn and demonstrate.
Online delivery consists of an hour lecture and an hour weekly online discussion forum.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- Discussion of a range of formative exercises will be discussed in class
- Formative feedback on the first, short written piece
- Feedback on the case study due at the end of the semester
- Criteria sheet grading.
Assessment
Overview
The assessment includes formative and summative assessment.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critical Response
Students are required to critically assess historical and cultural aspects of a specified type of deviant/marginalised behaviour chosen from a list provided.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Case study
You are in the role of a researcher and policy writer for a non-government organisation (NGO). In this role, you have been asked to undertake a case study to investigate a real-world contemporary social problem (form of "deviance") chosen from a list provided. You are required to critically evaluate its social construction, impact, and responses, before proposing in-depth recommendations for future social policy.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
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 will be able to make use of a wide variety of set readings and other resources on QUT Readings, available on the unit Canvas site, or via the QUT Library homepage. There is no required text book for this unit.
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.