ANTH 388. Prisons, Punishment and the State

Cross listed with: SOCI 388
Credits 3.00 PeopleSoft Course ID 013863 (C)

The course investigates the nature of punishment and the particular forms of punishment meted out by the state. Questions include: What is the purpose of punishment? Why does the state choose incarceration as its standard punishment? What forms of punishment exist in other cultures? We focus on the contexts in which prisons emerged in the US and what they say about our society. Discussions center on power, race, class, gender, age and the political economics of the criminal justice system. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 195 or permission of the instructor.