Sociology 269: The Sociology of Prisons and Punishment

This course will provide a sociological analysis of prisons in America and throughout the world. Specific topics to be covered include the history of imprisonment as a way of dealing with criminal offenders; the process by which persons become incarcerated in America; theoretical perspectives on imprisonment; the many different types of penal facilities which exist in our society; the impacts of prison upon the larger society; the internal dynamics of the prison institution; and alternatives to incarceration as a means of imprisonment. This course will be conducted as a large seminar, and all participants will be expected to complete a major analytical paper, and to present that paper to the other members of the seminar. In-class lectures and discussion will be supplemented by visits to some of the prisons and jails which are located in eastern Washington and Oregon.