SOC30790

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, students should be able to:

1. Critically understand and evaluate diverse alcohol and other drug theories, policies and debates in society.
2. Identify and evaluate factors that shape alcohol and other drug supply, distribution, drug taking and impact on society.
3. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of factors that shape societal perceptions and responses to alcohol and other drug taking and framings of drug-related harms and treatment.
4. Critically evaluate factors that shape discourses of drug control and regulations.

Indicative Module Content:

We will explore the following themes:

• - Drug and Culture.
• - Drug Market and Supply (drug trafficking and dealing, distribution, social supply, online/offline market).
• - Social Determinants vs Commercial Determinants of Drug Availability and Use.
• -Theories of Drug Use (sociological, psychological, etc, e.g., Normalisation, Gateway theory, Gendering of substance use, etc.)
• -Intoxication and Society: Theories and Representations.
• -Drug Taking, Place and Space (e.g., the night-time economy—key components of the night-time economy, including entertainment, arts, and dining spaces; drug consumption rooms). We will explore debates around these spaces.
• -Drug Pleasure.
• -Gender, Alcohol and Other Drug Use (Gender norms, identity constructions and drug use).
• -Drug Use and Deviance/Criminal behaviour (criminalisation of people who take drugs).
• -Drug-related stigma and Impact (Consequences, e.g., mental health). Drug/alcohol-related harms to others may trigger ill-treatment of those who use it, though this is not to justify such ill-treatment.
• -Impact of Drug Use on Society.
• -Societal Responses to Alcohol and other Drug use, intoxication and harm.
• -Drug Policies- Regulation, Prohibition and Control (war on drugs, drug policing and control in Ireland and international- Morality, Treatment approach vs. criminal justice approach).
• -Medical Cannabis Legalisation.

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

We will approach this module using diverse methods, such as lectures, class discussions and presentations. We will provide relevant materials, and students will be expected to actively participate in various ways throughout the trimester through interactive sessions.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Incompatibles:
SPOL30360 - Drug Use, Society and Policy


 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

- Feedback individually to students, post-assessment - Group/class feedback, post-assessment

Reading List
1. Bancroft, A. (2009). Drugs, intoxication and society. Cambridge: Polity Press.
2. Bean, P. (2014). Drugs and crime. London: Routledge.
3. Coomber, R., Moore, K., Measham, F., & McElrath, K. (2013). Key concepts in drugs and society. London: Sage Publications.
4. Dumbili, E. W. (2024). Reconfiguring drinking cultures, gender, and transgressive selves. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
5. Dumbili, E. W. (2025). Transnational alcohol corporations in Nigeria as commercial determinants of health: Implications for policy. International Journal of Drug Policy, 139, 104792.
6. Ettorre, E. (2004). Revisioning women and drug use: gender sensitivity, embodiment and reducing harm. International Journal of Drug Policy, 15(5-6), 327-335.
7. Gilmore, A. B., Fabbri, A., Baum, F., Bertscher, A., Bondy, K., Chang, H. J., ... & Thow, A. M. (2023). Defining and conceptualising the commercial determinants of health. The Lancet, 401(10383), 1194-1213.
8. Hammersley, R., & Reid, M. (2002). Why the pervasive addiction myth is still believed. Addiction Research & Theory, 10(1), 7-30.
9. Hutton, F. (Ed.). (2020). Cultures of intoxication: Key issues and debates. Cham: Palgrave.
10. Measham, F. (2002). “Doing gender”—“Doing drugs”: Conceptualizing the gendering of drugs cultures. Contemporary drug problems, 29(2), 335-373.
11. Mosher, C. J., & Akins, S. M. (2020). Drugs and drug policy: The control of consciousness alteration. Lonong: Sage Publications.
12. Nicholls, E. (2018). Negotiating femininities in the neoliberal night-time economy: Too much of a girl? Cham: Palgrave
Macmillan.
13. Stevens, A. (2011). Sociological approaches to the study of drug use and policy. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22(6), 399-403.
14. Thurnell-Read, T., & Monaghan, M. (2023). Intoxication: Self, state and society. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
15. West, R., & Brown, J. (2013). Theory of addiction. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.