Prisons, Mass Incarceration and Invisible Punishments: A View from the Social Sciences

Catalog description

This course examines the US criminal justice system, with a particular focus on the nation's imprisonment rates and the numerous ways that the having been incarcerated affects the individual and his or her family post-release. The course explores its subject matter by drawing from a range of social science disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, and law. It also incorporates some discussion of insights from historians and philosophers. The course is designed to teach students about (a) what is known about our nation's punishment system and (b) the methodology that social scientists use in their research. The course places a strong emphasis on empirical evidence. It also places an emphasis on the policy implications of social science research. Readings may include A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as Punishment for the Poor by Alexes Harris, Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Insecurity by Loic Waquant, Marked: Race, Crime and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration by Devah Pager, The Eternal Criminal Record by James Jacobs, and US Justice Statistics by the National Research Council.