MODULE SPECIFICATION
Code: UPHPJF-30-3 Title: Crime in America: Organisation and Control, 1865-Present
Version: 4
Level: 3 UWE credit rating: 30 ECTS credit rating: 15
Module type: Standard
Owning Faculty: Social Sciences and Humanities Field: History
Faculty Committee approval: QSC, Chair’s Action Date: 16th July 2009
Approved for Delivery by:
(indicate name of affiliated institution if module will only be delivered by them)
Valid from: September 2009 Discontinued from:
Contributes towards: Awards up to BA(Hons)
Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Entry requirements:
(if the module is offered as CPD or stand alone, indicate the entry requirements)
Excluded combinations: None
Learning outcomes:
Having successfully completed the module students should be able to demonstrate:
1. an understanding of the dynamics and control of organised crime in America (assessed through all components of assessment);
2. an appreciation of the inter-relationship of political, social, economic, cultural and international factors in the analysis of crime (assessed through all components of assessment);
3. that they have developed their ability to read secondary sources and view filmed representations critically (assessed through all components of assessment);
4. the ability to use appropriate evidence to support conclusions and to communicate thinking on the issues raised during the module in a variety of ways:
a) orally during assessed seminars (assessment Component B, Element 1);
b) in writing under controlled conditions (assessment Component A, Element 1);
c) in writing under uncontrolled conditions (assessment Component B, Element 2).
Syllabus outline:
The course starts with an introduction to theories and interpretations of organised crime and then examines a number of relevant themes and events including:
1) Reconstruction and white supremacy, 1865-1900
2) Late 19th century industrialists: pioneers or plunderers?
3) Progressivism and the search for order, 1900-1920
4) Prohibition era crime, 1920-1933
5) A New Deal for crime?
6) White collar criminality
7) Theories of conspiracy, 1945-1970
8) Richard Nixon and the politics of crime, 1968-1975
9) The Reagan era 'wars' against drugs and organised crime
10) Transnational crime and policing
Teaching and learning methods:
Lectures: to introduce contextual framework and different theories of organised crime
Assessed seminars: to provide students with an opportunity to take an active part in determining their learning and to share ideas and insights with others
Indicative Reading List:
J. Albanese, |
Organized Crime in America, (Cincinnati, Anderson, 1989). |
P. Boyer, |
Urban Masses and Moral Order in America, 1820-1920, (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1978). |
J. Coleman, |
The Criminal Elite: The Sociology of White Collar Crime, (New York, St Martin's Press, 1989). |
D. Musto, |
The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). |
E. Nadlemann, |
Cops Across Borders, (University Park, PA., Penn State Press, 1993). |
F. Pearce and M. Woodiwiss (eds), |
Global Crime Connections: Dynamics and Control, (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1993). |
J. Reiman, |
The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class and Criminal Justice, (New York, Macmillan, 1990). |
R. Schoenberg, |
Mr Capone, (New York, William Morrow, 1992). |
E. Sutherland, |
White Collar Crime, (Newhaven, Yale University Press, 1983). |
W. Wade, |
The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987). |
M. Woodiwiss, |
Organized Crime and American Power, (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2001). |
Assessment
Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 50% B: 50%
ATTEMPT 1
First Assessment Opportunity
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Exam (3 hours) 50%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Assessed seminar and written report (2500 words) 25%
2. Essay (2500 words) 25%
Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes is not required)
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Exam (3 hours) 50%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Essay (2000 words) 25%
2. Essay (2000 words) 25%
SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT Attendance at taught classes is required.
Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………Date ……………………………
(Associate Dean/Programme Director)