Social Problems - (In)equality and (In)justice

• • Course intro and critical sociological thinking
  • Culture, socialisation, prejudice, discrimination
  • Oppression and power
  • Classism and poverty
  • Racism, ethnic discrimination and colonialism
  • Sexism
  • Heterosexism and Transmisia
  • Ableism
  • Adultism and Ageism
  • Responding to the problem of injustice
  • Pulling it all together

Equivalent subjects

You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:

• GRF-CCJ18-Understanding Social Problems (No longer available)

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

The term social problem is usually taken to refer to social conditions that affect a significant number of people within society in a negative way. Social problems are seen as being disruptive or damaging to society, as social injustices that we should be striving to solve. For example, crime and safety, violence, alcohol, and drug use are often constructed as significant social problems for many people in Australia while others are more concerned with inequality and discrimination. In fact, social problems like crime are often the consequence of factors extending beyond the individual's control, such as inequality, discrimination, prejudice, oppression, and concomitant social injustice. Sociology provides us with the critical thinking skills to understand the connection between social problems and the social structure including how social problems come to be 'problems' in the first place. In this course, you will develop frameworks for critical sociological thought by exploring multiple intersectional axes of power, oppression, inequality, and social injustice including classism, racism and colonialism, sexism, heterosexism and transmisia, ableism, adultism, and ageism. You will learn how oppression and power within these spheres (and the intersections between them) are vital to understanding the social problems of most concern to the discipline of criminology and reflect on how (in)justice might be mitigated. The knowledge gained will equip you with the tools to do criminology in a socially just way.

• Online Mini Quiz 1 (15%)
• Online Mini Quiz 2 (15%)
• Online Mini Quiz 3 (20%)
• Reflective Journal Part 1 (25%)
• Reflective Journal Part 2 (25%)

For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).