Crime, Race and Gender (CRIM2099)

Course overview

This course challenges students to think about how justice is carried out in a diverse society. Awareness of inequality, power and colonial structures are fundamental to our understanding of crime and criminal justice. Students will be exposed to theoretical and conceptual frameworks for understanding diversity, and gain an understanding of how marginalisation, inequality, and colonisation shape criminal justice systems and outcomes.

This course examines how power and privilege operate within criminal justice contexts to create disadvantages across social identities including race, gender, class, ability, sexuality, citizenship status, and more. Students will explore how different aspects of social identity intersect to compound experiences of inequality and social injustice, drawing on a range of relevant sociological and criminological theories and tools. Beyond critical analysis, the course engages students in envisioning more equitable futures and exploring practical approaches to addressing systemic injustices. This solutions-oriented approach develops essential skills including effective communication, policy analysis, and advocacy strategies that prepare students for careers in criminal justice, social services, social policy development, and more. By combining theoretical understanding with practical skill development, students graduate equipped to contribute meaningfully to criminal justice reform efforts in their future professional roles.

CRIM2099/7099 is taught on St Lucia campus, and involves weekly seminars delivered in person.

The course relies on Blackboard Ultraﾠto provide students with learning materials relevant to each week’s workshop. Students are strongly encouraged to familiarise themselves with the course Blackboard site before the first week, and to engage with the weekly learning materials prior to joining our weekly workshops.

How much time should you spend on this course?

Students are expected to spend at least 10 hours each week on this course. This time can be divided roughly into three contact hours (combining lectures, workshop activities and discussion in class), and sevenﾠnon-contact hours (spent reading,ﾠcritically reflecting on the course learning materials andﾠcompleting the assessment tasks).

Course requirements

Assumed background

This course assumes that introductory criminology or sociology courses have been completed.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

4 units Criminology or Sociology courses

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

CRIM7099

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Please refer to My Timetable through my.UQ Dashboard (student login required) for the most up-to-date timetable information.

Aims and outcomes

The centralﾠaims of the course are (1) toﾠintroduce students to theoretical and conceptual frameworks for critically engaging with different aspects of social identity -- such as race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, citizenship status -- and the intersections of these, (2) to foster an understanding ofﾠmarginalisation, inequality, and colonisation as they shape criminal justice systems and outcomes, andﾠ(3) to encourage critical reflection of criminal justice practices; (4) to develop the skills and creative thinking needed to imagine and design fairer justice futures.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

In-class Inspera Short-Answer Reflection Activities

• Identity Verified
• In-person
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Participation/ Student contribution, Reflection

Weight

30% (7.5% per activity; 30% overall combined)

Due date

In-class Reflection Activity # 1 (Week 2) 7/08/2025 2:00 pm

In-class Reflection Activity # 2 (Week 4) 21/08/2025 2:00 pm

In-class Reflection Activity # 3 (Week 6) 4/09/2025 2:00 pm

In-class Reflection Activity # 4 (Week 8) 18/09/2025 2:00 pm

Assignments will be submitted via Inspera; they are due by the end of the workshops in weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. Students will be given time to complete the assessment in-class at the end of these workshops.

Other conditions

Student specific, Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

The completed in-class reflection activities must be submitted via Inspera by the end of the workshops in the weeks that they are due. Students will be given time towards the end of these workshops to complete and submit the assignments. (Please note, students with SAPs and/or approved extensions may be given alternative arrangements; please contact the Unit Coordinator ASAP. Students who have a reasonable excuse for being unable to join a workshop in the weeks that an Assignment 1 reflection activity is due should email the Unit Coordinator ASAP to request alternative arrangements.)

If you are unsure, please contact the Course Coordinator.

By submitting your assignment via Inspera, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. Please note that on the preview page, your assignment will be shown without formatting. Your assignment will retain formatting and your course coordinator/tutor will be able to see formatted assignments. Once you have submitted your assignment you are able to go back and view your submission with the correct formatting. 

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment.

If you are unable to submit your assignment by the due date, you will need to apply for an extension through your student portal on my.UQ. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Please note that from Semester 2, 2025 the Assessment Procedure has changed. You must submit a request for an extension as soon as it becomes clear you need an extension. Your request should be submitted no later than the assessment item's due date and time.

The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. A list of acceptable reasons for an extension and the evidence you must provide can be found here. Your request may be refused if you do not meet the acceptable reasons for an extension. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Students who are registered with Student Support and Wellbeing Services may apply for an extension without providing documentation. This extension request must be the student’s first extension request for the assessment item. If you proceed with an extension request based on your SAP, you will be ineligible to use your discretionary extension for the same assessment item. In the School of Social Science, extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require students to provide their SAP along with additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

A student is eligible for a discretionary extension for one assessment task per semester for a duration of 2 calendar days or less. A discretionary extension may only be used on a student’s first extension request for an assessment task.

A student may have a maximum of 3 extension requests approved for a single assessment task. If a third extension is necessary, you must submit an Assessment Management Plan in addition to your supporting documentation with your request. In exceptional circumstances, a fourth extension may be requested through the grievance and appeals process.

Extension requests exceeding the maximum extension period stated for a piece of assessment will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (circumstances outside of your control) with additional supporting documentation.

Late applications must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date and time. The School of Social Science will not accept personal statements.

Extension requests are processed and managed by the School of Social Science Administration Team.

Extensions in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Work will not be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Group - 'Fairer Justice Futures' short policy proposals

• Identity Verified
• Team or group-based
• In-person
• Online

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Participation/ Student contribution

Weight

10% pass/fail grade

Due date

20/10/2025 2:00 pm

Other conditions

Student specific, Time limited, Peer assessed, Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Students must engage in the Assignment 2 activities in the workshops from weeks 9-11.

On the submission date, students must submit evidence of their engagement / participation in weeks 9-11 via a Turnitin link provided in the Assignment 2 folder on Blackboard.

If you have any technical trouble when uploading your Assignment 2 submission, please email the completed assignment to the Course Coordinator before the due date/time to avoid penalty.  

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date.

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted.

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own.

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS Support Team.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Please note, extension requests are for the final submission of evidence of your participation in week 12 only (that is, you should seek an extension if you need more time to submit your evidence of participation). You do NOT need to seek a formal extension if you are unable to attend and/or complete the Assignment 2 activities in one of the relevant weeks (9-11). If you are unable to attend and/or complete the Assignment 2 activities in any of those weeks, please email the Unit Coordinator ASAP to make alternative arrangements.

Please note that from Semester 2, 2025 the Assessment Procedure has changed. You must submit a request for an extension as soon as it becomes clear you need an extension. Your request should be submitted no later than the assessment item's due date and time.

The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. A list of acceptable reasons for an extension and the evidence you must provide can be found here. Your request may be refused if you do not meet the acceptable reasons for an extension. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Students who are registered with Student Support and Wellbeing Services may apply for an extension without providing documentation. This extension request must be the student’s first extension request for the assessment item. If you proceed with an extension request based on your SAP, you will be ineligible to use your discretionary extension for the same assessment item. In the School of Social Science, extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require students to provide their SAP along with additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

A student is eligible for a discretionary extension for one assessment task per semester for a duration of 2 calendar days or less. A discretionary extension may only be used on a student’s first extension request for an assessment task.

A student may have a maximum of 3 extension requests approved for a single assessment task. If a third extension is necessary, you must submit an Assessment Management Plan in addition to your supporting documentation with your request. In exceptional circumstances, a fourth extension may be requested through the grievance and appeals process.

Extension requests exceeding the maximum extension period stated for a piece of assessment will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (circumstances outside of your control) with additional supporting documentation.

Late applications must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date and time. The School of Social Science will not accept personal statements.

Extension requests are processed and managed by the School of Social Science Administration Team.

Extensions in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Work will not be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Individual 'Fairer Justice Futures' long policy proposal

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique

Weight

60% graded

Due date

10/11/2025 2:00 pm

Students will have sufficient time to work with the ideas developed in weeks 9-11 and develop their own robust policy proposal, aimed at creating fairer justice futures.

Other conditions

Student specific, Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date.

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted.

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own.

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS Support Team.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Please note that from Semester 2, 2025 the Assessment Procedure has changed. You must submit a request for an extension as soon as it becomes clear you need an extension. Your request should be submitted no later than the assessment item's due date and time.

The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. A list of acceptable reasons for an extension and the evidence you must provide can be found here. Your request may be refused if you do not meet the acceptable reasons for an extension. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Students who are registered with Student Support and Wellbeing Services may apply for an extension without providing documentation. This extension request must be the student’s first extension request for the assessment item. If you proceed with an extension request based on your SAP, you will be ineligible to use your discretionary extension for the same assessment item. In the School of Social Science, extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require students to provide their SAP along with additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

A student is eligible for a discretionary extension for one assessment task per semester for a duration of 2 calendar days or less. A discretionary extension may only be used on a student’s first extension request for an assessment task.

A student may have a maximum of 3 extension requests approved for a single assessment task. If a third extension is necessary, you must submit an Assessment Management Plan in addition to your supporting documentation with your request. In exceptional circumstances, a fourth extension may be requested through the grievance and appeals process.

Extension requests exceeding the maximum extension period stated for a piece of assessment will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (circumstances outside of your control) with additional supporting documentation.

Late applications must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date and time. The School of Social Science will not accept personal statements.

Extension requests are processed and managed by the School of Social Science Administration Team.

Extensions in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Work will not be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Rubrics for individual assignments will be provided on the course Blackboard site.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Supplementary assessment is an additional opportunity to demonstrate that the learning requirements for an eligible course have been satisfied and that the graduate attributes for the course have been attained. Supplementary assessment may only be granted where Supplementary Assessment – procedures allow. A passing grade of 4 (or P) is the highest grade that can be awarded in a course where supplementary assessment has been granted. For further information on supplementary assessment please see my.UQ.

Additional assessment information

Academic Integrity: All students must complete the Academic Integrity Modules https://www.uq.edu.au/integrity/

School Guide for Written Assessments: School of Social Science Guide for Written Assessments

Release of Marks: The marks and feedback for assessments will be released to students in a timely manner, prior to the due date of the next assessment piece for the course. This is with the exception of the final piece of assessment. The marks and feedback for the final assessment item will only be made available to the student on the Finalisation of Grades date at the end of semester.

Assessment Re-mark: For information on requesting an assessment re-mark, please view the following page on my.UQ: https://my.uq.edu.au/querying-result

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Please see the course Blackboard site for all learning resources related to this course.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

Please see Blackboard for additional information on week-to-week topics and content.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.