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LAW40620

Academic Year 2025/2026

The Prison: Contemporary Challenges (LAW40620)

Subject:
Law
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Law
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Ian O'Donnell
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The response to crime is characterised in many countries by an emphasis on penal expansionism. This module explores some of the dilemmas that confront prison systems everywhere (e.g. violence, solitary confinement, recidivism) and analyses approaches to penal reform. The extent to which these problems have characteristics that reflect peculiarly local conditions is a recurrent theme. What, if anything, is distinctive about the 'society of captives' in Ireland?

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students will be able to:

Evaluate key debates in the penal policy arena.

Analyse international developments in an Irish context.

Interpret contemporary challenges of imprisonment and identify pathways to reform.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

200
Total

224

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Assignment: presentation and 1500 word assignment Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 Graded No
40
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Essay: Essay - 3500 words Week 12 Graded No
60
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 14:00 - 15:50
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