Overview

This unit provides students with basic and foundational knowledge regarding law and the social sciences as well as an understanding of the challenges and opportunities relating to the confluence of the two disciplines, including across areas such as jury decision-making, eyewitness testimony and expert evidence.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
29-July-2024
27-October-2024
Last self-enrolment date
11-August-2024
Census date
31-August-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
13-September-2024
Results released date
03-December-2024
Teaching Period 3
Location
Online
Start and end dates
04-November-2024
09-February-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-November-2024
Census date
29-November-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
27-December-2024
Results released date
04-March-2025
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the interaction of legal principles with social science principles
  • Describe and evaluate the considerations that influence decision making by judges and jurors
  • Conduct research and use the results of that research to recommend solutions to impaired perception and decision making in the criminal law
  • Discuss the confluence of law and social science and the implications for the legal system

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Class		2.00 12 weeks 24
Online
Lecture		1.00 12 weeks 12
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning		9.50 12 weeks 114
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AssessmentIndividual 50 - 60% 1,2,3,4 
PortfolioIndividual 40 - 50% 1,2,3,4 

Content

  • Understanding crime from a social science perspective
  • Understanding crime from a legal perspective
  • The considerations that influence decision making by judges and jurors
  • The considerations that influence decision making by police and enforcement agencies
  • The considerations that influence decision making by correctional agencies
  • Integrating law and social sciences to impact criminal activity
  • Integrating law and social sciences to improve offender rehabilitation 

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.