Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT3086: Addiction

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Aims

You will be introduced to the different theoretical models which inform cultural representations, treatment and policy decisions of drug use and addiction.  You will be expected to think critically about these models, examining what it means to be addicted and designated an addict, both within Western society and cross-culturally. You will be encouraged to assess the relationship between drug use and health, criminality, deviance, social control and the media. You will also reflect on current treatment models of addiction (e.g. counselling, harm reduction, decriminalization) at both the individual and policy levels, as well as public prevention campaigns.  As such, this module will develop your critical thinking in relation to contemporary addiction discourse and literature, as well as stimulate your own intellectual interest in this area.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. demonstrate knowledge of, analyse and engage critically with, a range of models and beliefs about addiction;
2. relate these perspectives to empirical studies and public policy on addiction;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. demonstrate in writing and orally competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in sociology and anthropology and their application to social life ;
4. demonstrate in writing and orally an ability to analyse empirical sociological/anthropological materials and critically engage with these involving complex reasoning;
Personal and Key Skills5. demonstrate in writing an ability to analyse, critically engage with, and report accurately on existing written material whilst articulating it within a structured and cogent argument;
6. demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay plan 500 words1, 3, 4, 5, 6Written feedback

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
40600

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Examination602 hours1-6Written
Essay403,250 words1-5Written feedback
0
0
0
0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
ExaminationExamination (2 hours)1-6August/September reassessment period
EssayEssay (3,250 words)1-5August/September reassessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Bancroft, A. (2009) Drugs, Intoxication and Society, Malden MA, Cambridge: Policy Press.

Faupel, Charles E., Horowitz, Alan M., and Greg S. Weaver. (2004) The Sociology of American Drug Use. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Goldberg, R. ed. (2011) Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Drugs and Society (2011) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 11th edition.

Hammersley, R. and Reid, M. (2002) Why the pervasive addiction myth is still believed, Addiction Research and Theory, 10 (1): 7-30.

Hammersely, R. Drugs and Crime, Theories and Practices (Crime and Society series). (2008) Malden MA, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Hussein Rassool, G.(2011) Understanding Addiction Behaviours: Theoretical and Clinical Practice in Health and Social Care, Palgrave Macmillan.

Klein, R (1993) Cigarettes are Sublime. Duke University Press.

McKeganey, N. (2011) Controversies in Drug Policy and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan.

West, R. (2006) Theory of Addiction, Addiction Press/Blackwell Publishing.