Penology

Teacher(s)

Brion Fabienne;

Language

French

Main themes

The course surveys major theoretical approaches to
(1) the social meanings, functions and effects of legal punishment
(2) the social meanings, functions and effects of prison and imprisonment.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	- Expose the major theories and fundemental concepts in sociology of punishment - Analyse the inferences that can be drawn form historical or empirical observations of concrete systems of legal punishment - Develop analytical skills, e.g. elementary demographical skills, required for critical evaluation of legal punishment, prison and imprisonment.

Content

The course is organized into two parts, one dedicated to sociological theories of punishment, and the other to sociological theories of prison.
The authors studied in the first part are (1) Emile Durkheim (revisited by Harold Garfinkel), (2) Georg Rusche/Otto Kirchheimer (revisited by Thorsten Sellin, Dario Melossi, Alessandro De Giorgi), and (3) Michel Foucault (revisited by Malcolm Feeley and Jonathan Simon).
The authors studied in the second part are: (1) Donald Clemmer (revisited by Donald Lawrence Wieder), (2) Gresham Sykes (revisited by Axel Honneth, Alison Liebling), and (3) Erving Goffman (revisited by Anselm Strauss, Jim Thomas).
Contemporary studies reworking the works left by these theorists will be presented and discussed.

Teaching methods

Ex cathedra courses; where appropriate, invitations to guest speakers 

Evaluation methods

In-class written exam.

Online resources

Slides and reading portfolios on moodle

Faculty or entity

> ECRI