DOCSLIB.ORG

L Uomo Delinquente: Patterns of Criminality and the Architecture of the Cell Olga Touloumi

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
L Uomo Delinquente: Patterns of Criminality and the Architecture of the Cell Olga Touloumi L Uomo Delinquente: Patterns of Criminality and the Architecture of the Cell Olga Touloumi In 1885, the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome hosted text of post-Risorgimento Italy and its identity politics,^ the 3rd International Penitentiary Congress and the 1st the two exhibitions reflected parallel efforts to define and International Congress on Criminal Anthropology simul- standardize both the space and its occupant via formal taneously.' At the Penitentiary Congress, prison labor analysis. products, confinement mechanisms, and life-size models The chronicle of this dialogue between discourses on of prison cells reflected a fixation with the standardiza- criminality, form, behavior, and architecture, all began tion of prison architecture and cell typology while, at the with a laboratory discovery of a fossetta, a small mor- second Congress, the emerging discipline of criminal an- phological deviation of the skull.-' [Fig. I] While director thropology was exhibiting its research on manifestations of the Pesaro asylum, Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), of delinquency and criminal typology with death masks, performed an autopsy on the skull of Italian brigand- replicas of appendages, and detailed anatomical draw- Giuseppe Villella. During the procedure, he was aston- ings of prisoners' skulls and bodies. In response to the ished to discover a small dimple on the back of the skull, Italian Interior Minister's request that the study of peni- with a part of the spinal column below it. tentiary reform occur within the prison,; both criminal anthropology and prison architecture attempted to pres- / seemed to see all at once, standing out clearly illumined ent their respective subject matters as being in pursuit of as in a vast plain under a flaming sky. the problem of the a type, a pattern. nature of the criminal, who reproduces in civilized times Situated between the panopticon model of the early characteristics, not only of primitive savages, but of still Enlightenment period and the wing-organized prison lower types as far back as the carnivores.^ of the 20th century, prison architecture of this period mainly privileged a radial configuration. With the cells The story of Villella's autopsy and Lombroso's discov- developing linearly along corridors and not circumfer- ery would have remained only another Eureka! anecdote entially around a tower, life inside the cells ceased to in the history of science had it not coincided with the be subject to a centralized gaze, or to its absence - to unification of Italy. The Italian state was unifying the put it in Foucaultian terms. Instead cell typology came to dispersed body of penitentiary institutions into one insti- the forefront of prison architecture. Set within the con- tution under the auspices of the central authority of the 49 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/thld_a_00595 by guest on 25 September 2021 state. A basic intention of the state was to codify what the area of the tattoo, the more violent the individual. constituted an ItaUan- from amongst its diverse regional According to him, the tattoo's "complexity, multiplicity, and its situation upon the most sensitive portions of the populations- and so it called upon the sciences to par- body, where even savages avoid placing it, [shows] the ticipate in this attempt to formalize a type- the Italian greatest insensibility on the part of the criminals."' The citizen- through the support of scientific methods that arms, upper body, legs, and head of each soldier were classified race and class. graphically depicted and arrayed on drawing plates pro- The fossetta "discovery" provided the necessary pre- viding a comprehensive survey of the tattooed body as text for the inauguration of the discipline of criminal an- well as of isolated tattoos [Fig. 2]. Later incorporated into thropology and further research on criminal types, with the fifth volume of his treatise on the delinquent man, the support of the Italian penal system. In reality, the the Atlante,' this method of documentation set the initial research had already been launched while Lombroso framework for the connection drawn between behavioral served as physician in the Calabrian military from 1859 to and morphological patterns. 1863." After graduating from the School of Medical Stud- Moving from the military establishments in Calabria ies in the University of Padua, he joined the Risorgimento to the Pesaro Asylum and the University of Turin," Lom- transferred to Calabria, where he docu- forces and was broso isolated formal analysis as a fundamental analytic mented the tattoos covering soldiers' bodies. Lombroso tool for his research. In addition to studying the delin- saw characteristics such as color, shape, complexity and quent body, he initiated research comparing the artifacts position of tattoo as indicative of a decipherable formal produced by the prisoners with the morphology of their lexicon of delinquency. The more elaborate the form, the bodies. His archives now included graffiti, petit sculp- more dangerous the owner; the more physically sensitive tures, samples of hand-writing and "pictografia," all il- lustrating "the peculiar and atavistic tendency to express the thoughts ... that preoccupy him [the criminal] with figures."'" He also compared criminal skull diameter, na- sal shape, and asymmetries between the left and right sides of the body, with their relationship to the particu- lar kind of criminal activity the individual was engaging in. This data was then organized into extensive catalogs relating certain morphologies to specific types of delin- quency. Almost any indications of asymmetry, complex- ity, or morphological irregularity on the criminal's body or art product became interpreted as indicative of a crim- inal pattern. Thieves especially are apt to have submicrocephaly more C C B B frequently than normal beings, but less often than insane, A while swindlers, bandits, and assassins are apt to have a head of exaggerated size, similar to that of the racial type, but larger. Congenital criminals present frequent cranial VILLELLA and facial asymmetry: this is especially the case with rav- ishers and thieves, and yet less in them than in the insane, A.Fosaa occipitale media although they exhibit more traumatic lesions of the head, 6 .Create che la hmitano and greater obliquity of the eyes . There are several dif- C.Tubercoli ossoi ferential points in the various classes of criminals." Fig. 1- Plan ol VillelldS skull indicjung the area around Ihe "fosseta" a Medial occipilal fossa (fosseta). b Cresis limiling it (Ihe fossa), c Tubercle bones Ollolenghi. Salvalore Trattato di poiizta saertlifica Milano: Societa edilrice librana. 1910-1932. 50 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/thld_a_00595 by guest on 25 September 2021 f-'J* K. fl.J tt 1.? -;# -<:\ . te> 5 '['A 'C'" /•'j! I/: Fig- 2 Sketches of talloos on the 5th volume of "L'Uonio Delinquetite" Lombroso, Cesare L' Vomo Delmqutmte in Rappano all' Anrrcpologia. Ciunspnidenza e alia Discipline Carcerane Tonno Fratelli Bocca, 1878 Driven by the fantasy of the asymmetrical, ornamented, cell capacity at low construction cost; the call for per- outre body of the criminal, juxtaposed against the ideal fected state control apparatus applied uniformly on the of the symmetrical, unornamented, Italian body, and the delinquent population; and the profitable operation of desire to codify the former, the Lombroso team came up the institution through prison labor. Within the general with, not one, but multiple variations on a generic crimi- euphoric atmosphere, the Illustrazione Italiana went nal type, unintentionally proving the work of criminal so far as to attribute to the cell the characteristics of an typology to be an almost impossible task. The discourse on prison architecture was also departing from the pursuit of the ideal building type and focusing instead on the unit that contained the crimi- nal: the cell. At the 3rd International Penitentiary Con- gress, the interest in cell standardization took the form of an exhibition organized in three parts: the first show- ing models of cell types in use at the most outstand- ing penitentiaries of each participating country [Figs. 3. 4],<^ the second displaying confinement equipment and construction details of each respective cell type, and the third exhibiting prison labor products [Fig. 5]." The tripartite exhibition celebrated cell typology as the absolute manifestation of utilitarianism, resolving at once three issues: the need for prisons with a maximum IIS showing the hall hosting pan of the (oreign patlicipation to the prison labor iil'ilion L'tllustTOZione Itahana Milano: Editore Garijnti, 1885. 51 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/thld_a_00595 by guest on 25 September 2021 ideal housing unit. One anonymous writer exclaimed cell that was soon to contain it. that "few of us have rooms so elegant in our houses." Published in the proceedings of the congress, the ac- Each cell was reproduced full-size with the exact companying construction documents outlined architec- construction materials and dimensions, "with real doors, tural guidelines for cell typology built around the desire real bolts and the whole arrangement of a real peni- for the modularization of the criminal. Each cell was pre- sented in the proceedings through four plates; a first and second plate with a detailed plan, two cross sections and two longitudinal sections, a third plate with construction details, and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Introduction to Criminology
    PART 1 © Nevarpp/iStockphoto/Getty Images Introduction to Criminology CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminology. 3 CHAPTER 2 The Incidence of Crime . 35 1 © Tithi Luadthong/Shutterstock CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminology Crime and the fear of crime have permeated the fabric of American life. —Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court1 Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd. —Bertrand Russell2 OBJECTIVES • Define criminology, and understand how this field of study relates to other social science disciplines. Pg. 4 • Understand the meaning of scientific theory and its relationship to research and policy. Pg. 8 • Recognize how the media shape public perceptions of crime. Pg. 19 • Know the criteria for establishing causation, and identify the attributes of good research. Pg. 13 • Understand the politics of criminology and the importance of social context. Pg. 18 • Define criminal law, and understand the conflict and consensus perspectives on the law. Pg. 5 • Describe the various schools of criminological theory and the explanations that they provide. Pg. 9 of the public’s concern about the safety of their com- Introduction munities, crime is a perennial political issue that can- Crime is a social phenomenon that commands the didates for political office are compelled to address. attention and energy of the American public. When Dealing with crime commands a substantial por- crime statistics are announced or a particular crime tion of the country’s tax dollars. Criminal justice sys- goes viral, the public demands that “something be tem operations (police, courts, prisons) cost American done.” American citizens are concerned about their taxpayers over $270 billion annually.
    [Show full text]
  • A Conceptual Overview of Deviance and Its Implication to Mental Health
    International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org || Volume 2 Issue 12 || December. 2013 || PP.01-09 A Conceptual Overview of Deviance and Its Implication to Mental Health: a Bio psychosocial Perspective Nalah, Augustine Bala1, Ishaya, Leku Daniel2 1-Behavioural Health Unit, Psychology Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nasarawa State University, Keffi – Nigeria; 2- Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nasarawa State University, Keffi –Nigeria; ABSTRACT: This research paper is a conceptual overview of deviance and its implications to mental health and well-being. The study conceptualized and theorized deviance and mental health through the sociological, biological, and psychological dimensions. All theories agreed that deviant behaviour begins from childhood through old-age. This suggests a deviation from behaviour appropriate to the laws or norms and values of a particular society. This makes deviance to be relative, depending on the society and individual. Mental illness and Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD) as the inflicted or labelled deviants are unable to cope. The behavioural aftermath of PTSD typically involves increased aggression and drug and alcohol abuse, which could lead to anxiety, depression, insomnia, plus memory and cognitive impairments or mental disorder. The paper recommends policymakers in collaboration with behavioural health specialists (Clinical psychologists), should focus on developing and implementing social learning preventive and reformative programmes through role playing, behaviour modification, social support system, and peer and group psychotherapy among others. Keywords: Conduct disorder, deviance, mental health, post-traumatic-stress-disorder, psychological trauma, I. INTRODUCTION The social understanding of the study of deviance and crime examine cultural norms; how they change over time, how they are enforced, and what happens to individuals and societies when norms are broken.
    [Show full text]
  • Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory
    Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory Lombroso, Cesare: The Criminal Man Contributors: Francis T. Cullen & Pamela Wilcox Print Pub. Date: 2010 Online Pub. Date: November 23, 2010 Print ISBN: 9781412959186 Online ISBN: 9781412959193 DOI: 10.4135/9781412959193 Print pages: 561-566 This PDF has been generated from SAGE knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book. SAGE Copyright ©2013 SAGE knowledge 10.4135/9781412959193.n155 University of Cincinnati Cesare Lombroso, who lived from 1835 to 1909, was an Italian physician best known for his studies [p. 561 ↓ ] in the field of criminal anthropology and his theories of the “criminal type”—an individual whose physical structure and psychological characteristics possessed the atavistic and degenerative traits that differentiated him from the civilized, socially well-adjusted human. Lombroso is also remembered for shifting the focus of legal thinking from crime to the criminal, and his theory on the constitutional and hereditary roots of criminal conduct. His theories have heavily influenced developments in criminology throughout both Europe and the United States, although they have been challenged and often discredited. His most famous work, L'uomo delinquente (The Criminal Man), considered by many historians the founding text of modern criminology, went through five editions between 1876 and 1897, and during Lombroso's lifetime was translated into French, German, Russian, and Spanish. Each edition contained additional data, observations, and illustrations: the first edition was a reasonably short volume of 255 pages; the last edition consisted of four volumes and was 1,902 pages long. Short Biography Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco, came from a Jewish family in Verona that had lived in North Italy for generations.
    [Show full text]
  • Editoria Our Decision in This Respect
    place the head of Lombroso on the cover of this issue of Criminal Justice Matters and to furnish the ensuing pages with further Lombrosian imagery. Three factors influenced editoria our decision in this respect. First, many continue to practice criminology within the criminology and its uses confines of the positivist project — albeit in more sophisticated ways. For these academics and practitioners, the The cover of this issue presents a somewhat gruesome cover could be interpreted as reflecting the preservation of photograph of the pickled head of Cesare Lombroso, such thinking throughout the twentieth century. Second, others preserved for all to see in the Museum of Criminal have been critical of the positivist project, both past and Anthropology — Cesare Lombroso in Turin. As many of our present — indeed many of the contributors to this present readers will know, Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) is the issue map a somewhat fragmentary picture of the contours of founder of 'a science of the criminal' if not of the science of much criminological thought. In doing so, these contributions criminology. Nevertheless, the influence of his scuola positiva raise a number of questions about the positivist enterprise in on the development of a criminological enterprise has been general and its achievements in particular. For them, the enormous. preserved image of Lombroso's head will symbolise the For those readers unable to recall the work of Lombroso, a preservation only of external features rather than integral brief review will have to suffice. The changing nineteenth thought. Third, others have expressed a desire to move beyond century saw advances in the physical and natural sciences the boundaries of modern criminological thought and to alongside external social and economic developments; within acknowledge various hitherto neglected avenues for future this context Lombroso and his colleagues Ferri and Garofalo discussion and analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Born Criminal'? Lombroso and the Origins Of
    The ‘born criminal’? Lombroso and the origins of modern criminology | ... http://www.historyextra.com/article/feature/born-criminal-lombroso-orig... Search the site... Type your email address here... SIGN UP! By clicking on the 'Sign Up!' button, you are agreeing to History Extra's terms & conditions. You can opt-out at any time. @HistoryExtra: 'It is one of the great paradoxes of history that Stalin should have been fooled by Hitler' https://t.co /Nq5kNq5lVX #WW2 #historypodcast Follow @HistoryExtra @HistoryRevMag: 5 facts about Caligula – including how he once went to war against the god of the sea... https://t.co /KngfYOgSdg https://t.co/2uUEHKS541 Follow @HistoryRevMag p Back to 1 of 7 6/10/2016 6:45 AM The ‘born criminal’? Lombroso and the origins of modern criminology | ... http://www.historyextra.com/article/feature/born-criminal-lombroso-orig... Listen now Believing essentially that criminality was inherited and that criminals could be identified by physical attributes such as hawk-like noses and bloodshot eyes, Lombroso was one of the first people in history to use scientific methods to study crime. Now, Lombroso is the subject of a new historical novel by former criminal barrister Diana Bretherick. Here, writing for History Extra, Bretherick tells you everything you need to know about Lombroso, and explains why his influence on today's study of crime cannot be ignored… It began in Italy in 1871 with a meeting between a criminal and a scientist. The criminal was a man named Giuseppe Villella, a notorious Calabrian thief and arsonist. The scientist was an army doctor called Cesare Lombroso, who had begun his career working in lunatic asylums and had then become interested in crime and criminals Take a trip with a difference while studying Italian soldiers.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminal Man” Distribute Cesare Lombroso 1836–1909 University of Pavia and University of Or Turin, Italy Often Called “The Father of Modern Criminology” Post
    2 The Search for the “Criminal Man” distribute Cesare Lombroso 1836–1909 University of Pavia and University of or Turin, Italy Often called “the father of modern criminology” post, efore we examine the content of this chapter, it is important to remember a few of the B cautionary comments offered in Chapter 1. By keeping these ideas in mind, we more than likely will be successful in accomplishing the goal of introducing you to the context and consequences of criminological theory. We want you to remember that the search for explanations of criminal behavior is not easy because we copy,constantly must guard against our biases, mistaken perceptions, and prej- udices. Unless we maintain our intellectual guard against these problems, our learning will be severely limited. This will become obvious as we study the following chapters and learn that many theories of crime that have experienced popularity with the public and profes- sional criminologists also have been criticized for having serious blind spots. Unfortu- nately,not the blind spots often have contributed to the creation and implementation of official policies that have produced results as undesirable as crime itself. Although it is impossible to develop perfect policies, we must keep in mind the fact that theories do influence the policies and practices found in criminal justice systems. Do It is important to remember that the explanations of crime, whether they are created by the public or by professional criminologists, are influenced by the social context from which they come. This means that the social context will consist of perceptions and inter- pretations of the past as well as the present.
    [Show full text]
  • Cesare Lombroso and the Origins of Criminology: Rethinking Criminological Tradition1
    Cesare Lombroso and the origins of criminology: Rethinking criminological tradition1 Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) is widely recognized as one of the first people to bring scientific methods to bear on the study of crime. A physician, psychiatrist, and prolific author, Lombroso is best known as the founder of criminal anthropology, the study of the body, mind, and habits of the “born” criminal. Lombroso's theory of the atavistic offender dominated criminological discussions in Europe, North and South America, and parts of Asia from the 1880s into the early twentieth century. But critics attacked his theory even during his lifetime, and by the time he died, criminologists outside Italy had moved on to other explanations of crime2. Today, criminology textbooks continue to acknowledge Lombroso as the “father” of the field, but they tend to be vague as to the nature of his contribution, and in U.S. courses on criminology, Lombroso and his work are sometimes ridiculed. The time is ripe to reassess Lombroso’s work and significance to the field. While I have no intention of defending Lombroso as a researcher, I have spent the last decade immersed in the originals of his books, which has led me to conclude that what we thought we knew about Lombroso differs in important respects from what he actually said. And because our view of his work has been unavoidably narrow and distorted, we have also reached some inaccurate conclusions about the nature of his contribution to criminology. In what follows, first I summarize the view of Lombroso that has appeared over time in American criminology textbooks.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminology Title Author Call Number Race to Execution [Videorecording] / Produced by Lioness Media Arts, Inc
    Criminology Title Author Call Number Race to execution [videorecording] / produced by Lioness Media Arts, Inc. ; a co-production with the Independent Television Service and a co- presentation with National Black Programming Consortium ; a film by Rachel Lyon. DVD 2718 My American girls [videorecording] : a Dominican story / a film by Aaron Matthews. DVD 2719 Ethnography : step by step / by David M. Fetterman. Fetterman, David M. GN345 .F47 1998 Strategies of qualitative inquiry / Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, editors. H61 .S8823 2008 Doing qualitative research : a comprehensive guide / David Silverman, Amir Marvasti. Silverman, David. H62 .S472 2008 Extreme deviance / edited by Erich Goode, D. Angus Vail. HM811 .E97 2008 Deviance in everyday life : personal accounts of unconventional lives / Erich Goode. Goode, Erich. HM811 .G665 2002 Urban problems in sociological perspective / Thomas R. Shannon, Nancy Kleniewski, William M. Cross. Shannon, Thomas R., 1945- HT123 .S53 2002 Drugs, crime & justice : contemporary perspectives / [edited by] Larry K. Gaines, Peter B. Kraska. HV5825 .D818 2003 Lombroso, Cesare, 1835- Female offender, by Caesar Lombroso and William Ferrero. 1909. HV6046 .L8 1958 Psychology of female violence, second edition : crimes against the body / Anna Motz. Motz, Anna, 1964- HV6046 .M64 2008 Punishing persistent offenders : exploring community and offender perspectives / Julian V. Roberts. Roberts, Julian V. HV6049 .R59 2008 Introduction to forensic and criminal psychology / Dennis Howitt. Howitt, Dennis. HV6080 .H69 2005 Understanding criminal behaviour : psychosocial approaches to criminality / David Jones. Jones, David, 1948 Jan. 28- HV6080 .J65 2008 Biology and crime. Rowe, David C. HV6115 .R595 2007 Crime and social institutions / edited by Richard Rosenfeld. HV6150 .C743 2006 Current issues in victimology research / edited by Laura J.
    [Show full text]
  • Pioneers in Criminology: Cesare Lombroso (1825-1909) Marvin E
    Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 52 Article 1 Issue 4 November-December Winter 1961 Pioneers in Criminology: Cesare Lombroso (1825-1909) Marvin E. Wolfgang Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Marvin E. Wolfgang, Pioneers in Criminology: Cesare Lombroso (1825-1909), 52 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 361 (1961) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. The Journal of CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINOLOGY, AND POLICE SCIENCE Vol. 52 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1961 No. 4 PIONEERS IN CRIMINOLOGY: CESARE LOMBROSO (1835-1909) MARVIN E. WOLFGANG The author is Associate Professor of Sociology in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He is the author of Patterns in Criminal Homicide, for which he received the August Vollmer Research Award last year, and is president of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. As a former Guggenheim Fellow in Italy, Dr. Wolfgang collected material for an historical analysis of crime and punishment in the Renaissance. Presently he is engaged in a basic research project entitled, "The Measurement of De- linquency." Some fifty years have passed since the death of Cesare Lombroso, and there are several important reasons why a reexamination and evaluation of Lombroso's life and contributions to criminology are now propitious. Lombroso's influence upon continental criminology, which still lays significant em- phasis upon biological influences, is marked.
    [Show full text]
  • Cesare Lombroso, a Modern Man of Science
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY LIBRARY University of California. Class CESARE LOMBROSO A MODERN MAN OF SCIENCE Digitized by tine Internet Archive in 2007 witii funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/cesarelombrosomoOOkurericli CESARE LOMBROSO A MODERN MAN OF SCIENCE BY HANS KURELLA, M.D. AUTHOR OF " NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CRIMINAL, ETC. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY M. EDEN PAUL, M.D. ^&^, NEW YORK REBMAN COMPANY 1123 BROADWAY ^AV^^^l .ui All rights reserved PREFACE The subject of this little book is, as its title shows, Cesare Lombroso, the man and the investigator; it makes no attempt to deal adequately with Lombroso, the reformer of criminology and criminal sociology. To do justice to Lombroso' s work in the latter respect would be impossible, without at the same time writing the history of the Italian school of " positive criminal jurisprudence" and that of the influence of that school upon important tendencies of the public life of all the leading civilized peoples. It would also be impossible without dealing at the same time with the plan of the new German criminal code. For many reasons I have refrained from any such attempt; above all, in view of limits of space. None the less, I have dealt with Lombroso's activity as a reformer as far as this was essential in order to do justice to the personality of the deceased investigator. Certain brief sections of this book have, with con- siderable modifications, been taken over from my earlier publications upon the development of criminal anthropology. Entirely new, however, is the attempt here made to demonstrate how high is the position Lombroso may justly be said to have occupied in a brilliant epoch of positive study of the world, of V 216G17.
    [Show full text]
  • Detention: Effect Or Cause of Deviance? an Analysis of the Arguments Provided by Romanian Inmates
    European Scientific Journal April 2017 /SPECIAL/ edition ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431 Detention: Effect or Cause of Deviance? An Analysis of the Arguments Provided by Romanian Inmates Cristina Ilie Goga (assistant professor, PhD) University of Craiova, Romania Abstract The sociology of deviance places great importance on the causes of delinquency. A question always arises: why, in the same context, some people commit crimes and others do not? The first part of the article is based on the analysis of the causal theories of deviance, showing the views of some famous authors such as Cesare Lombroso, Edwin Sutherland, Michel Foucault or Erving Goffman. The second part of the paper presents the results of a sociological survey conducted in a Romanian penitentiary and analyses the prisoners' perspective on the causes that led them to commit those delinquent acts and also their perception of the influence that the detention system has on their personal development and on the risks that incarceration incurs. Keywords: Detention, deviance, causal theories of deviance, sociological survey, Romania Introduction This paper is built around the following question: Can detention be seen as the effect or as the cause of deviance? Ever since the beginning of the 19th century, the French system of liberty deprivation has been analyzed by a series of researchers who worked for the government or for other institutions. They wanted to find an answer to the question of whether incarceration can or cannot be perceived as a cause of repeated offenses, given the fact that it leads to an ”inmate's moral decay” (Beck, 1992: 15).
    [Show full text]
  • Download a PDF of This Article
    THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE NOV | DEC 2013 29 “I worked there for four years,” received mostly high marks from his University City, which once belonged to says Raine, now 59. “And it wasn’t a peers and reviewers. legendary criminologists Thorsten Sellin research job; it was an applied job, treating “Adrian is such a good scientist—will- and Marvin Wolfgang Gr’55, and which, prisoners, assessing them, running hostage- ing to imagine where the field can go, he says, has been broken into multiple training courses for the prison officers. but still very careful not to overstate times since he arrived here in 2007. “I “I desperately wanted an academic job,” where it is now,” says Martha Farah, live near my data,” he notes wryly.) he adds. “I made 67 applications in those director of the Center for Neuroscience “I’d like to think that, more than other four years and got 67 straight rejections. I & Society and the Annenberg Professor scientists in the field, those four years in applied everywhere—not just to universities in the Natural Sciences. “Is the neurosci- prison helped in some ways,” he adds. but to what we call ‘polytechnics,’ which are ence in The Anatomy of Violence solid? “That, and being a victim of violence. It’s really teaching institutes in England. I Yes! What Adrian says about brain func- salutary, and it makes you stop and think.” applied for postdoctoral positions; I applied tion and antisocial behavior, you can to Australia, New Zealand—even Papua take it to the bank.” New Guinea—and got rejected.
    [Show full text]