Bibliograph

The Oxford history of the prison, the practice of punishment in western society, edited by Norval Morris and David J. Rothman

Type

Label

The Oxford history of the prison, the practice of punishment in western society, edited by Norval Morris and David J. Rothman

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

mapsillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The Oxford history of the prison

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

32088355

Responsibility statement

edited by Norval Morris and David J. Rothman

Sub title

the practice of punishment in western society

Summary

In The Oxford History of the Prison, a team of distinguished scholars offers a vivid account of the rise and development of this critical institutionThe authors trace the persistent tension between the desire to punish and the hope for rehabilitation, recounting the institution's evolution from the rowdy and squalid English jails of the 1700s, in which prisoners and visitors ate and drank together; to the sober and stark nineteenth-century penitentiaries, whose inmates were forbidden to speak or even to see one another; and finally to the "big houses" of the current American prison system, in which prisoners are as overwhelmed by intense boredom as by the threat of violence. The text also provides a gripping and personal look at the social world of prisoners and their keepers over the centuries. In addition, thematic chapters explore in-depth a variety of special institutions and other important aspects of prison history, including the jail, the reform school, the women's prison, political imprisonment, and prison and literature

Classification