A History of Crime and Punishment
UndergraduateGRF-HSY3112025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Plunge into the history of crime, law and criminal justice. Dissect how attitudes to crime have shifted over the centuries. Follow the twists and turns of the witch-hunts in the Middle Ages. Look at executions in the eighteenth century and identification of criminals in the nineteenth century.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 23 Feb 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Price from
- $2,124
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
A History of Crime and Punishment
About this subject
At the completion of this subject you will be able to:
- understand some major themes in the history of the crime and the law from the earliest times to the present;
- engage systematically and critically with the complex relations between developments in the law and legal system and broader political, social economic and cultural change;
- demonstrate a general capacity for research, analysis of evidence, reasoned argument, clear exposition, and sound judgement;
- progress, through an informed and disciplined reflection on the past, to a richer and deeper understanding of the present.
- Anglo-Saxon Origins of English Criminal Law
- Legal Developments after the Norman Conquest of 1066
- Torture and the Emergence of the Jury Trial
- Social Control, Witches and Moral Panic in England during the 16th and 17th Centuries
- Crime and Criminals in the 18th Century
- The 'Bloody Code' and Capital Punishment in 18th Century Britain
- Crime and Convict Transportation
- Crime and Criminals in the 19th Century
- The Rise of the Prison
- Policing in the 19th Century
- Identifying Criminals in the 19th Century
This subject examines the incidence of crime, the development of the law and criminal justice processes in response to crime, and the means of punishment to deal with crime. Covering the period from the Middle Ages to the end of the nineteenth century, the focus will be mainly on Europe and the ways in which crime impacted on communities, how the meaning of criminality shifted over time, and the agencies for change in dealing with criminals.
- Online Exam (30%)
- Essay (35%)
- Online Discussion (35%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Others
Note: Level 3 subjects normally assume a moderate level of prior knowledge in this area, eg from studying related Level 1 and 2 subjects or other relevant experience.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateGRF-ART-DEG
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