Sociology and Criminology with a Foundation Year - BA (Hons)

This core module will introduce you to a range of classical sociological theories and perspectives whilst situating them in their social and historical contexts. Not only does it outline the origins of social theory, and explore some of the key classical thinkers and theories, but it also critically examines the legacies of colonialism and gender exclusion at the heart of European modernity.  

City, Community and Culture is an introduction to urban sociology via the city on our doorstep. Using Birmingham as our ‘urban laboratory’, we will explore some of the urgent questions facing contemporary cities and how urban sociologists have sought to address them.  The module is applied in nature. Research-based learning (where you learn as researchers) will see you going out into Birmingham and exploring how a sociological lens can help us understand the city. You will engage with the skills and imagination to comprehend and study Birmingham, engaging with local organisations where appropriate (including Fierce public art collective, Birmingham city archives, and local charities). 

This module will be focused on helping you to develop your criminological imagination. It will give you the tools to be able to recognise how major developments in criminology relate to the social and political context of historical moments. Topics include major historical eras such as the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and major shifts in the economy from the Post-War State to the rise of Neoliberalism, as well as changes in social attitudes and demographics through social movements like labour, feminism, anti-racism/imperialism, and LGBTQ+ activism, as well as immigration, the rise of surveillance, and environmental politics. 

This module aims to advance your awareness of the interplay between individual experience and wider society. In so doing, you will be supported to develop and to apply that which the American sociologist C Wright Mills (1959) called, a ‘sociological imagination’:  an act which invites us to ‘think our selves away’ from the immediacy of the routines, events and personal circumstances of everyday life and to consider these in wider social context from a sociological point of view. In support of this endeavour, the module introduces and makes use of contemporary sociological thinking and practice with an alertness to social setting, agency and social structure. Analysis, discussion and debate are framed and grounded with reference to selected social topics and themes with a relevancy to the lived experience of the ‘everyday’. 

Politics and Society is an introductory module that aims to familiarise students with key themes in political sociology. It introduces politics from a sociological perspective that encompasses institutional and extra-institutional means of doing politics, different spheres of claim-making, forms of political participation, and social change. The module encourages students to reflect on how political processes and discourses affect their own experiences, expectations, and visions of the future. Politics is studied in conventionally political settings such as the parliament and protests as well as in everyday life, personal relationships, and the workplace. Theoretical readings are followed by examples from contemporary socio-political life.

Becoming a Social Researcher will introduce students to social research methods, offering initial training which will be developed at Level 5 (Applied Social Research) and eventually feed into their Integrated Research Project (Level 6). Here, students will learn core skills, including: identifying a topic (scale), writing an effective research question, developing a conceptual framework, identifying appropriate methods, and the practicalities of empirical research (including access, sampling, resources, and ethics). 

In this module we will take a critical look at the shifting nature of crime, social contexts, and the impact of crime on space and place as linked to the urban city as a social milieu. We will also investigate the nature of contemporary city living and how this is experienced across intersections of identity, and what this means for vulnerabilities to being victims of crime or being led into criminal pathways. We will also look in detail at forms of criminological theory and consider newer emergent aspects of cultural and critical forms of criminology.

This module begins with questioning what applied sociological research is, what is its meaning and rationale and value in a social context. In this regard, this module explores the principles of sociological research strategies and designs, and how these principles may be applied in practice.  Within the module there is a focus on qualitative methodologies, which will encourage students to clarify how research questions, strategies, methods and forms of analysis influence each other. Students are expected to complete and follow ethical procedures as part of this module.  

This module begins with questioning what applied sociological research is, what is its meaning and rationale and value in a social context. In this regard, this module explores the principles of sociological research strategies and designs, and how these principles may be applied in practice.  Within the module there is a focus on qualitative methodologies, which will encourage students to clarify how research questions, strategies, methods and forms of analysis influence each other. Students are expected to complete and follow ethical procedures as part of this module.  

Black theoretical perspectives and debates on crime, criminal justice, and criminology are seldom heard, seen, or referred to, within so called ‘mainstream criminology’. A possible explanation pertaining to this ‘invisibility’ could be as a consequence of ‘implicit biases’ within the discipline itself. It is argued that these implicit biases further reproduce and reinforces privilege of some perspectives, whilst at the same time subordinating others. Russell (2002) calls for the development of a ‘black criminology’, Phillips and Bowling (2003) further call for the need to develop ‘minority perspectives’ in criminology, whilst Glynn (2018) sees the need for a Critical Race Criminology to transcend the current subordinate status of non-white criminological perspectives.

This module considers the role of forensic science in criminal investigations. You will examine a variety of methods and practices of forensic science, including crime scene analysis, DNA evidence and blood spatter analysis, and will discuss how these are interpreted to solve criminal cases. You will explore the theories and academic debates surrounding current practice.

Traditionally criminology has focused on those who perpetrate harm and given far less attention to those who experience harm, and this module seeks to address this discrepancy. This module will give some consideration as to why some events which cause harm are formally labelled and treated as crimes when others are not, and in doing so we will consider the impact of this upon those who experience these harms. This module will support you to develop a critical understanding of victimology and equip you to question the label 'victim'. Furthermore, we will consider how many of those who experience harm will frequently be the least powerful and the most vulnerable in society, increasing the need for effective responses (both inside and outside of the Criminal Justice System) to repair the harm done.

Youth Crime and Justice aims to equip students with a sound theoretical knowledge of juvenile offending and justice. In essence, the understanding of the complex relationship between young people and criminality fits within the wider aims of the degree programme and associated pathways as it draws on sociological, psychological and criminological understandings, furthering students’ ability to understand and problematize crime and its causes. The module also recognises that the separate and distinct administration to criminal justice to young people is a topic worthy of consideration in its own right, and considers important debates around justice, welfare, education and the construction of youth and childhood. It takes both a contemporary and historical focus, considering how the nexus of crime, control and youth have variously been considered during different historical periods. 

Popular culture refers to the cultural form of ordinary people and is shaped by the interactions between people in their everyday activities: styles of dress, the use of slang, greeting rituals and the foods that people eat. Popular culture is also informed by the mass media and in this module, we will consider how the media and popular culture can act to confirm or resist dominant ideologies produced in society. We will explore and analyse a wide range of mass mediated and everyday culture. You will learn and apply a range of methods of cultural analysis to the study of contemporary media, culture, and the cultural sociology of everyday life.

This module develops your knowledge of political globalisation, borders, and migration. These intersecting aspects of the modern world are examined by drawing upon key perspectives in International Relations and Sociology. You are provided with a rigorous conceptual account of globalisation through the figure of the mobile and immobilized subject. Institutional frameworks, political events, legal developments, social identities, and cultural attitudes towards borders and migration are the empirical foci of the module. You are required to develop strong written and verbal debating skills, as necessary for demands of interdisciplinary scholarship. Teaching provision consists of lectures and seminars. Guest lectures will supplement the learning. Invited speakers will be from other academic institutions or civil society organizations. 

This module will explore the gendered nature of crime and criminal justice. In doing so, we will consider the gendered perspective of victims, perpetrators and those working within the Criminal Justice System. This module will draw on a broad theoretical framework; including feminist, psychological, biological and human rights perspectives. This module is central to the students’ development of critical appreciation of the relationship between the individual and social aspects of crime and victimisation.

The aim of this module is to provide a framework for you to undertake a substantial disciplinary relevant project. It is founded upon Birmingham City University’s teaching and learning philosophy which integrates theory and practice.  The format of the Integrated Research Project will vary, dependent on the degree pathway you are on, and the choice of project. Depending on student interest and available support, potential project formats may include: a library-based or empirical dissertation; a group-based social entrepreneurship project; or other projects based on the suggestion of students.  

This is a Level 6 optional module which will introduce students to hate crime and issues related to hate crime and how multi-agencies have to deal with such complex issues.  It will examine the issue of vulnerable groups such as children, those with a learning disability and people who have suffered anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia as potential victims of religiously motivated hate crimes. 

This innovative module will engage your critical thinking to situate emotions at the forefront of contemporary criminological thought by examining the experience and role of emotions in criminal behaviour and criminal justice responses to such behaviours. The approach to emotions within the legal system and criminal justice agencies is often paradoxical. Your module content will draw on diverse theoretical approaches to define emotions and the affective role of emotions in our everyday lives. Building on this, the module seeks to examine the social construction of emotions in comparative British and international contexts. The intersection of emotions, power and gender is central to your analysis of representations of offending and criminal justice policy and practices across cultural and jurisdictional contexts.

The module will introduce students to the complex world of cyber-crime and issues related to cyber technology and how the police deal with cyber issues from cyber terrorism, cyber bullying and cyber hate.  The module will work well alongside the other modules related to security studies where students will examine the rationale of cyber-crimes. 

This module is tied to an emergent research field that unites a multi-disciplinary network of academics, researchers and postgraduate students who explore the boundaries of crime, consumption, leisure and deviance. The topic is informed through critical engagement with a range of perspectives intersecting with the sociological interpretations of crime and deviance, drawing on Criminology, Law, Sociology, Urban Studies, Geography, and Leisure and Tourism. The overarching theme of deviant leisure therefore unites a wide range of research areas, including leisure and consumption practices, intoxication, media, urban exploration, sport and violence, dark tourism, the leisure activities of the rich and powerful, deviancy within videogames, and the impact of internet/social media in correlation with issues of criminological and sociological theory.

Harms of the Powerful encompasses the damaging and victimising behaviours perpetrated by privately or publicly operated corporations, as well as the state facilitated legalistic and political responses to these activities. Within criminology and wider academia, we generally fail to scrutinise those who operate within the upper echelons of society – those individuals or institutions with much economic and cultural capital. This module will address such deficiencies by providing a nuanced and holistic overview of the actions of such individuals, organisations and State actors.

Organised crime has become a significant concern and appears to be on the increase. In this module, you will study contemporary global crimes such as drug and human trafficking, terrorism, illegal arms trading and financial crime through the lens of critical criminology. In addition, you will examine the extent of transnational organised crime, its historicity at a global level and law enforcement responses.

This is an optional module concentrating on cultural sociology with specific reference to music. The module will provide students with an in-depth introduction to some of the key sociological ideas and perspectives on music, and it will focus on three main themes: the social and historical settings in which musical forms are produced and consumed; music in relation to identity and politics; and the political economy of music. By the end of the module, students should have a good understanding of the social functions, and significance, of music. Key issues we will explore include: the influence of class, race and gender on musical styles; music in its relationship with sub-cultural groups and as a force for political expression; and the commodification of popular music. Alongside considering these issues, we will be listening to a variety of music. 

Activism and social movements have attempted to address a wide range of social problems and influence social change. Historically, movements have had significant influence on social relations and social policy. This module will critically investigate a range of social movements and activism from the past and present to better understand these movements and their internal processes and external contexts. Various theories will be explored to get a good grasp of what brings about social movements, how they operate, and when they succeed. The social movements discussed in this module will include the climate change movement, Black Lives Matter, the environmental movement, the anti-austerity movement, the trade union movement, the animal rights movement, the anti-nuclear movement, the civil rights movement, and the black power movement. The module will also explore movement organizations such as Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and ACT UP. 

The module explores and examines the historical context which produced the Black Arts Movement in Africa and across the Diaspora. It aligns with the aims of the Black Studies degree programme as it focusses on a social movement, and discusses the contribution that artists from the African diaspora have contributed to visual culture. By engaging with a range of intellectual perspectives that contributed to the development of the Black Arts Movement, students will have the opportunity to understand how, in the case of the Black Arts Movement, intellectual thought and artistic production are symbiotic.  

Using international urban case studies, Global Cities is an advanced urban sociology module building upon the imagination and skills developed through City, Community, Culture (L4 focusing on Birmingham); Space and Place (L5, focusing on spatial theory) and Crime in the City (L5, focusing on urban criminology). The module introduces students to cutting-edge urban studies thinking via research informed teaching. Each week will focus on a new city and a new topic, encouraging students to expand their global horizon of urban issues, as well as enabling them to compare, contrast, and expand their learning across different case studies. The module aims to provide students with the skills and insight necessary to face a new era of ‘planetary urbanism’ and the unique challenges this era presents for city governance and society. In particular, the module will focus on issues of inequality, social injustice, as well as both implicit and explicit urban divisions and conflicts.  

The module provides you with an introduction to postcolonial studies. The module gives you an overview of how European colonialism operated, legacies of colonialism in the present, and contestations of these legacies. It examines the writings of key thinkers in postcolonial studies as well as the applicability of their ideas for interpreting and critiquing contemporary politics. The module has a transnational focus. It engages with Anglo-American, Western European, Latin American, Chinese, South Asian, North African, and Australasian postcolonial contexts. Focus is placed on the empirical postcolonial developments and scholarship that emanate from these regions. You are thereby exposed to key historical and contemporary political issues across national borders. Teaching provision consists of lectures, seminars, and student-led presentation sessions. Guest lectures and optional cross-university readings groups will supplement the learning.  

This module will be of interest to students who wish to explore and gain a critical understanding of the social world through visual culture. It will discuss the power of texts to influence and shape both historical and contemporary social contexts and is informed by debates that address the increasing significance of visual communications and the need to develop visual literacy in the contemporary world. We are increasingly exposed to a phenomenal array of sophisticated visual texts, and therefore the module aims to explore how visual meanings are made and how meanings are communicated.