The prison is a recent invention, hardly more than two centuries old, yet it has become the universal system of punishment. How can we understand the place that the correctional system occupies in contemporary societies? What are the experiences of those who are incarcerated as well as those who work there? To answer these questions, Didier Fassin conducted a four-year-long study in a French short-stay prison, following inmates from their trial to their release. He shows how the widespread use of imprisonment has reinforced social and racial inequalities and how advances in civil rights clash with the rationales and practices used to maintain security and order. He also analyzes the concerns and compromises of the correctional staff, the hardships and resistance of the inmates, and the ways in which life on the inside intersects with life on the outside. In the end, the carceral condition appears to be irreducible to other forms of penalty both because of the chain of privations it entails and because of the experience of meaninglessness it comprises. Examined through ethnographic lenses, prison worlds are thus both a reflection of society and its mirror. At a time when many countries have begun to realize the impasse of mass incarceration and question the consequences of the punitive turn, this book will provide empirical and theoretical tools to reflect on the meaning of punishment in contemporary societies.

The prison is a recent invention, hardly more than two centuries old, yet it has become the universal system of punishment. How can we understand the place that the correctional system occupies in contemporary societies? What are the experiences of those who are incarcerated as well as those who work there? To answer these questions, Didier Fassin conducted a four-year-long study in a French short-stay prison, following inmates from their trial to their release. He shows how the widespread use of imprisonment has reinforced social and racial inequalities and how advances in civil rights clash with the rationales and practices used to maintain security and order. He also analyzes the concerns and compromises of the correctional staff, the hardships and resistance of the inmates, and the ways in which life on the inside intersects with life on the outside. In the end, the carceral condition appears to be irreducible to other forms of penalty both because of the chain of privations it entails and because of the experience of meaninglessness it comprises. Examined through ethnographic lenses, prison worlds are thus both a reflection of society and its mirror. At a time when many countries have begun to realize the impasse of mass incarceration and question the consequences of the punitive turn, this book will provide empirical and theoretical tools to reflect on the meaning of punishment in contemporary societies.

The 1970s were tumultuous years in American prisons, beginning with the bloody uprising at Attica and ending with the even bloodier one at New Mexico State. The Massachusetts prison system was one of the most seriously afflicted. Murders, suicides, riots, strikes, and mass escapes were only the most obvious manifestations of a system in turmoil.

The author's tale of being arrested in Rome on May 3, 1944, and of the following thirty-three days of beatings, interrogations, and transfers from one prison to the next, is one of "survival and growth, an account of his experiences and a meditation on their meaning for himself, for his compatriots, and for an entire country."--Cover.

The Prisoners' World seeks to make the "prisoners' voice" come alive for regular college classroom students via author narrative essays as well as over sixty prisoner essays that shed light into prisoner experiences in California and Michigan penitentiaries.

"Choose wisely. Then keep your head down and do what you're told. Time will pass, and we'll be back for you."Audra Copeland is among dozens of newly convicted felons dropped off on the prison planet Rhodon, where she discovers that the women of zone four have a long-standing arrangement with the men. If they hand over six of the new arrivals, the men won't raid. And Audra has just been drafted.She can take her chances on her own, or select a guardian. The deal is simple, if barbaric: sex, in exchange for food and safety from the other two hundred men in zone four. It's a terrifying proposal. The men are violent, filthy degenerates.Then Audra sees Tyson at the edge of the crowd. A hulking, scarred figure, the other men call him a savage, but his clothes are clean, and he's holding a freshly caught rabbit. He can clearly protect what's his.As compassionate as he is powerful, Tyson ignites something fierce in Audra, and their connection is white-hot. The problem? Every thirty days, she'll have to pick a new guardian.Now that he's found Audra, Ty has every intention of keeping her for himself. Even if he has to destroy the fragile zone four peace treaty to do it.

Throughout American history, people with strong beliefs that ran counter to society's rules and laws have used civil disobedience to advance their causes. From the Boston Tea Party in 1773, to the Pullman Strike in 1894, to the draft card burnings and sit-ins of more recent times, civil disobedience has been a powerful force for effecting change in American society.This comprehensive A-Z encyclopedia provides a wealth of information on people, places, actions, and events that defied the law to focus attention on an issue or cause. It covers the causes and actions of activists across the political spectrum from colonial times to the present, and includes political, social economic, environmental, and a myriad of other issues."Civil Disobedience" ties into all aspects of the American history curriculum, and is a rich source of material for essays and debates on critical issues and events that continue to influence our nation's laws and values. It explores the philosophies, themes, concepts, and practices of activist groups and individuals, as well as the legislation they influenced. It includes a detailed chronology of civil disobedience, listings of acts of conscience and civil disobedience by act and by location, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and a comprehensive index complete the set.