Critical criminology and the social sciences

Introduction

Welcome to this free course, Critical criminology and the social sciences. While the names of some of the disciplines in the social sciences are likely to be familiar, you might have less of an idea about their core characteristics and, in particular, the strengths and limitations associated with these disciplines in terms of helping to make sense of the social world.

Criminology is often studied alongside other social science disciplines, most commonly: psychology, sociology or law. This course will help you to make sense of some of the key differences between criminology, psychology, sociology and law, while illustrating how certain topics might be approached and understood by someone from these different disciplinary backgrounds.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course DD212 Understanding criminology [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .