Student guide Facoltà di Giurisprudenza A.A. 2004/05

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the discipline of criminology. After an introduction to the historical development of such a discipline, from the historical writings of criminal law reformers in the Eighteenth Century to the more recent foundation of a scientific criminology, the course will deal with  modern criminology as a composite, eclectic, multidisciplinary enterprise, made up of a body of accredited and systematically transmitted forms of  knowledge, approved procedures and techniques of investigation.  Major emphasis will be placed on issues related to violent crimes and to white-collar offences and their power to undermine the basis of trust which holds society together.

Students will be encouraged to take an active role in the class and to participate in the critical discussion of cases and materials.

Introductory part of the course.

1.   Criminology: history and theory (the classical school of criminology, the positivist school, victimology, criminological psychology).

2.   Criminology and literature: Victorian detective fiction and the nature of evidence – the interrelationships between detective fiction and Nineteenth Century scientific texts.

Part one.

1.   Criminology and criminal justice.

2.   Models of criminal justice.

3.   The relationship between criminal law, criminology and criminal justice.

Part two.

1.   Environmental criminology.

2.   Violent crimes (homicide, rape, assaults).

3.   Criminal profiling.

4.   Victimology.

Part three.

1.   White-collar crimes (crimes against the environment, economic crimes).

2.   Victims of white-collar crimes.

There will be an oral exam at the end of the course. Detailed information on evaluation criteria will be provided at the beginning of the course.