Society and People in Crisis

How do societies tackle the challenges of people thrown into crisis? What are the institutional and procedural responses to the fact that individuals can experience impaired social functionality or can display dysfunctional behaviour? How can these societal measures address individuals' circumstances?

Week One – Criminology: Prisons, Police and Justice                      

You would like to learn more about the Criminal Justice System and Practice of England and Wales? During this week you will explore life and processes in prisons, focusing on gender, age and ethnic minorities. You will explore cases of miscarriages of justice and gain an understanding of Penal Policy. You will look at the politics of abolitionism: reducing and eliminating the use of incarceration and mental health care in prisons.

You will visit our award winning National Justice Museum and participate in talks with experts.

At the end of the first week you should understand the fundamental concepts underpinning the major sociological approaches to punishment and the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches as they are applied to sanctions in particular societies, and be able to demonstrate your knowledge of penal sanctions available in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Week Two – Contemporary Issues in Mental Health

Would you like to understand what the contemporary issues in mental health are and compare mental health services across the global community?

On this part of the course you will critically appraise different models for understanding mental distress ranging from diagnostic to individuals’ wider interactions with their environment, community and society. You will explore interdisciplinary working including contrasting the interventions available to help people with mental health problems. There will be a focus on recovery as a critical concept and outcome in contemporary mental health care. Factors such as stigma, discrimination, unemployment and social exclusion will also be explored.

At the end of this week you should be able to compare and contrast contemporary mental health services, evaluate the relationship between the individual and their social context in relation to how this impacts on mental distress, and demonstrate a critical understanding of interventions in mental health. You should also be able to evaluate the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives including service user and professional contributions for promoting recovery and change in people’s lives, and critically apply social science knowledge to understand how mental health services are delivered in the UK and beyond.

This course is a part of NTU Global Summer School, a programme of 2 – 4 week courses and social activities running in July and August 2018.

Tuition fee: £1,100

Credit information

On successful completion of this course you'll get 10 NTU credits (5 ECTS).

Entry requirements

You should have completed at least one year of undergraduate studies and have the required English language skills.

Ideally you will have a demonstrable interest and prior knowledge of the subject.

Related courses you could consider

This course can be combined with:

• Groups and Identities in Everyday Life in Block One.

Please email us if you have any further questions about your course.