Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Historical Development of Prisons. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page research paper that discusses the rise of the modern prison in the nineteenth century. David Garland, in his 1990 text Punishment and Modern Society, argues that the “’social meaning of punishment is badly understood’” and that a “’a pluralistic, multidimensional approach’” is required in order to fully comprehend the historical development of contemporary penal systems (Harcourt, 2007, p. 307). Therefore, this research explores the positions of various social theorists in order to gain a broad view of how and why prisons developed as the prevalent punishment strategy during the nineteenth century. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhispri.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the historical development of contemporary penal systems (Harcourt, 2007, p. 307). Therefore, the following research explores the positions of various social theorists in order to gain a broad view of
how and why prisons developed as the prevalent punishment strategy during the nineteenth century. Scholars have frequently addressed the question of why "the squalid conditions of local prisons and
the spectacle of the scaffold were replaced with the sanitary and disciplinary regimen of the modern penitentiary" during the period between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries (Willis, 2005, p.
171). The intentions of upper and middle-class "evangelicals, philanthropists, progressive political actors, and government administrators" have been identified as being pivotal to the mechanisms of social change, but scholars have
differed in their assessments of the motives of these actors (Willis, 2005). The following brief overview looks at some of the stances taken by various scholars. Durkheim: Emile
Durkheim (1858-1917) is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern social science. His accomplishments greatly facilitated establishing sociology as a respected field of scientific study. Durkheim posited
that the Industrial Revolution created changes in society that led to a condition that the referred to as "anomie" or "normlessness," by which he meant that the rapid social changes
accompanying technological advancement changed society to such an extent that people felt they had no guidelines for how to behave in the new order. According to Durkheim, "anomie is a
condition in which society provides individuals with little moral guidance." (Lemert, 1993, p. 97). Therefore, he saw strong governments, nationalism and the use of authority as imperative to maintaining social
order. Durkheim analyzed why certain behaviors are considered criminal, that is, a danger to society. Durkheim questioned, "What social danger is there in touching a tabooed object, an impure
...