The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Summer 2019 What's Cookin'?: An Analysis of Food as a Method of Control in the Penal System Zoe Livengood University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, and the Food Studies Commons Recommended Citation Livengood, Zoe, "What's Cookin'?: An Analysis of Food as a Method of Control in the Penal System" (2019). Master's Theses. 657. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/657 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT’S COOKIN’?: AN ANALYSIS OF FOOD AS A METHOD OF CONTROL IN THE PENAL SYSTEM by Zoe K. Livengood A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by: Dr. William W. Johnson, Committee Chair Dr. Joshua Hill Dr. Laura Gulledge Dr. Jennifer Lemacks ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. William W. Johnson Dr. Lisa Nored Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Director of School Dean of the Graduate School August 2019 COPYRIGHT BY Zoe K. Livengood 2019 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT According to Garland (2001), the U.S. correctional system is a reflection of the culture of control that exists in American society. One way the correctional system exerts control is through food. This concept partnered with Foucault’s ideas about the evolution of punishment and the criminal justice system as an institution creates the theoretical foundation for food as a method of control in the correctional system. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this study examined food as a method of control in three southern Mississippi jails in order to understand how food is a contested space for control between jail staff and inmates. After interviewing and surveying inmates and staff, the researcher was able to propose a model in which inmates and staff use food as a method of control, but mostly indirectly. Both inmates and staff use food in order to shape identity. The results of this research can be used to influence correctional food best practices. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to extend my sincerest thanks to my committee members Dr. Laura Gulledge and Dr. Jennifer Lemacks for helping with project development and editing and revising multiple drafts of this thesis. A special thanks to my committee co-chairs Dr. William W. Johnson and Dr. Joshua Hill for their extra special attention and effort put forth for this project. My friend and colleague, Kayce Lowe, has also been a source of tremendous support during this process. This thesis would not have been possible without these individuals and the support from the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security at this university. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, James and Lisa Livengood. Their never-ending love and support has always inspired me to work hard and push forward. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 11 Corrections as an Institution: Penal Welfarism and the Evolving Culture of Control.. 11 The Culture of Control .................................................................................................. 13 Food and Control .......................................................................................................... 17 Correctional system control ...................................................................................... 17 Corruption and cutbacks ....................................................................................... 20 Food as punishment .............................................................................................. 22 Security ................................................................................................................. 24 Inmate control ........................................................................................................... 25 Taking control of identity ..................................................................................... 25 Forming relationships ........................................................................................... 27 Resistance and role reversal .................................................................................. 28 Individual Resistance ........................................................................................ 29 v Group Resistance .............................................................................................. 32 Control over other inmates and the sub rosa economy ......................................... 33 Preliminary Conclusions and Research Questions ....................................................... 37 CHAPTER III – METHODS ............................................................................................ 40 Setting ........................................................................................................................... 40 Participants .................................................................................................................... 40 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 41 Staff ........................................................................................................................... 41 Inmates ...................................................................................................................... 41 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 42 Qualitative Data ........................................................................................................ 42 Quantitative Data ...................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER IV - RESULTS .............................................................................................. 46 Quantitative Multivariate Analysis ............................................................................... 46 Qualitative Analysis ...................................................................................................... 52 Inmate Responses...................................................................................................... 56 Correctional Staff Responses .................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER V – DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER VI – CONCLUSION AND PROPOSED MODEL ....................................... 74 Policy Implications ....................................................................................................... 76 vi Limitations .................................................................................................................... 78 Future Research ............................................................................................................ 81 APPENDIX A – Facility Letter Example ......................................................................... 83 APPENDIX B – IRB Acceptance Letter .......................................................................... 84 APPENDIX C – Staff Survey ........................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX D – Staff Interview ....................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX E – Inmate Survey ........................................................................................ 89 APPENDIX F – Inmate Interview .................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX G – Inmate and Correctional Control ATLAS.ti Network ........................... 93 APPENDIX H – Loss of Individualism ATLAS.ti Network ............................................ 94 APPENDIX I – Loss of Identity ATLAS.ti Network ....................................................... 95 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 96 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Topics Covered in Surveys and Interviews ........................................................