OVERVIEW

The objective of the course is to provide knowledge about the nature of criminology and to foster reflection on how such knowledge can be applied in professional contexts.

Criminology, as understood by scholars, differs greatly from how it is portrayed in mainstream and social media: it is not a science per se, but rather the result of applying contributions from various disciplines within the social sciences to a hetero-defined object—the offender. As such, criminology should be distinguished both from investigation, which falls under police sciences, and from security sciences, which focus on the creation of social and virtual contexts that guarantee the exercise of rights and freedoms. Its object of study is the offender and the psychological and social causes of criminal behavior, as well as its prevention, treatment, and control, addressed by the various disciplines that have engaged with it—ranging from psychology, psychiatry, genetics, and neuroscience to sociology and law.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge of the criminology interdisciplinary nature and its hetero-definition; knowledge of the main approaches (psychological and sociological) to the sector, as well as their evolution starting from the origin of the discipline; knowledge of the main problems of prevention and criminological treatment.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the content of the major psychological and sociological theories on crime. Specifically, they should be able to critically analyze the fascination with criminology that has developed in the postmodern era in relation to current social issues. Additionally, they should be able to analyze offenders’ narratives through the lens of psychosocial theory, which positions the offender as a subject defended in the psychodynamic sense, and only partially self-aware — situated at the crossroads between the structural conditions that shaped their history and their capacity for agency, both in terms of criminal causation and desistance. Furthermore, students should demonstrate awareness of the challenges involved in working with individuals who often reject or manipulate the intervention of psychologists or professional educators.

M.A. Psychology students shoud be also familiar with a basic knowledge about forensic psychiatric evaluation of offenders.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will be based traditional lectures supported by digital materials retrieved from online sources. Moreover, students will actively engage in the narrative analysis of texts authored by offenders, provided by the Professor, aimed at enriching their understanding of the subject matter through experiential learning. Participation in cultural and dissemination events will also be part of the didactic experience, 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

COMMON PART (FOR ALL THE STUDENTS)

General part: the development and the contexts of criminological research; recorded crime and dark number; the criminal personality; family context and criminality; migration and criminality; prevention, treatment and control of criminality. Special part: narrative criminology: criminological narratives of the criminal and about the criminal: different theories; the psycho-social approach to criminology.

MOREOVER, JUST FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE "MAGISTRALE" IN PSYCHOLOGY

Forensic psycopathology and psychology: psychology and law; the psychiatric expertise on the criminal; the psychological evaluation of the victims of crime.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

FOR FREQUENTING STUDENTS

Gadd D., Jefferson T.: Psychosocial Criminology: An Introduction, Sage Publications, London, 2007.

Binik O.: The Fascination with Violence in Contemporary Society: When Crime is Sublime. Palgrave McMillan, London, 2020.

Adshead, G., Horne, E.: The Devil You Know, Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry, Faber & Faber, London, 2022.

The instructor will also provide supplementary learning materials.

FOR NOT FREQEUNTING STUDENTS:

Bandini T. e coll.: Criminologia, vol I, Giuffré, Milano, 2003: cap.1, 2, 3, 4, 7.

Gadd D., Jefferson T.: Psychosocial Criminology: An Introduction, Sage Publications, London, 2007.

Binik O.: The Fascination with Violence in Contemporary Society: When Crime is Sublime. Palgrave McMillan, London, 2020.

Adshead, G., Horne, E.: The Devil You Know, Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry, Faber & Faber, London, 2022.

MOREOVER, JUST FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE M.A. IN PSYCHOLOGY

Bandini T.,Rocca G.: Fondamenti di psicopatologia forense, Giuffré, Milano, 2010: cap.1,2,3,6,9,10.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, every Tue/Fri 8.00 - 10.00

Class schedule

CRIMINOLOGY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge, reflective abilities, and their capacity to analyze offender narratives in response to two or three open-ended questions.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

he final exam will be conducted in written form. However, the Professor is available to administer the exam orally upon motivated request by the student.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students coming from different courses, and from the laurea triennale in Scienze e Tecniche Psicologiche are requested to prepare the exam on the texts assigned to the students of Laurea Magistrale in Psychology.

Foreign students are requested to prepare all the texts assigned (books by Gadd and Jefferson's, Binik and Adshead are available in English). The Professor is available to accommodate specific learning needs upon request, and can be contacted both by e-mail (a.verde@unige.it) and by phone (+393470958409).

Students with specific learning disabilities, or other kinds of disability, are also requested to contact the Professor in order to address their specific problems.