Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT3096: The Anthropology of Prisons

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Aims

Prisons and their operation, purpose and value are topics of great interest and importance in the contemporary world. The primary aim of the module is to introduce you to key anthropological and sociological concepts relating to experiences of imprisonment, and to a wide range of ethnographic work on prisons in different geographical and cultural settings. What commonalities do we find, and in what ways are prison lives different in these settings? What kinds personhood, and what types of social relationships are forged through prisons, their environs and aftermaths? What bearing do ethnicity, kinship and group membership, for instance, have on experiences of constraint? We will also think about how prisons relate to other carceral environments in contemporary society, such as detention centres, psychiatric units and zoos. The module aims to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable you to understand and evaluate the differing views expressed by established anthropologists and sociologists in relation to prisons. You will be empowered to use anthropological and sociological work as a tool in the development of your own thinking around carcerality.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. display a detailed knowledge of specific theoretical concepts and methodological approaches in the anthropology and sociology of prisons and the intellectual debates concerning them 2. display a well-developed awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural diversity in relation to prison experiences and a strong reflexive appreciation of the complexity of these experiences 3. Demonstrate a strong ability to contextualise particular prison ethnographies in relation to the anthropology and sociology of prisons more widely, and effectively critically evaluate examples of ethnographic work on imprisonment
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. demonstrate aptitude in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in anthropology and sociology via the application of appropriate theoretical models in the analysis of ethnographic case studies 5. demonstrate a strong grasp of issues relating to ethnographic representation, the politics of language, indirect forms of communication, forms of power, theoretical statements and claims of authority, showing a well-developed ability to analyse these 6. plan, undertake and present sophisticated scholarly work that shows a developed understanding of anthropological aims, methods and theoretical considerations
Personal and Key Skills	7. express your own ideas clearly orally and in writing, summarizing the arguments of others with precision and drawing distinctions between the them 8. engage strongly in constructive discussion in group situations and seminar 9. evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in learning and study skills in detail and take action to improve your capacity to learn

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Core theory in the anthropology and sociology of prisons: Foucault, Goffman and Sykes

Getting into prison: evaluating ethnographic research as a methodology for the study of imprisonment

Case study: Bomana Prison, Papua New Guinea.

Case study: Unnamed Prison, Kolkata, India.

Case study: the Feminine Penitentiary Centre, Miraflores, La Paz, Bolivia.

Case study: HMP Maze (or Long Kesh), County Down, Northern Ireland.

Case study: the design of carcerality for Aboriginal people in Australia and Canada

Sensory penalties

Prisons and their relatives: detention centres, psychiatric units and zoos.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	22	Weekly 2-hour lectures/seminars or 1 hour lecture + 1 hour seminar.
Guided independent study	32	Reading of the set texts for weekly lectures and the tutorials
Guided independent study	32	Additional reading under the guidance of the lecturer
Guided independent study	25	Preparation and writing of the essay
Guided independent study	25	Preparation and writing of the contextualisation and critique exercise
Guided independent study	6	Background research conducted by the student depending on need and interest
Guided independent study	8	Recapitulation of reading done throughout the term

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Web-based and electronic resources:

https://www.informa.com.au/insight/the-cultural-needs-of-the-aboriginal-prison-population/

https://moa.ubc.ca/2021/12/an-oral-history-of-moas-prison-program-an-interview-with-reva-malkin/

Other Learning Resources

ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Reed, Adam. 2006. Papua New Guinea's Last Place: Experiences of Constraint in a Postcolonial Prison. Oxford and New York: Berghahn.

Rhodes, Lorna A. 2001. ‘Toward an Anthropology of Prisons’. Annual Review of Anthropology 20: 65-83.

da Cunha, Manuela. 2014. ‘The Ethnography of Prisons and Penal Confinement’. Annual Review of Anthropology43: 217-233.

da Cunha, Manuela. 2008. ‘Closed Circuits: Kinship, Neighbourhoods and Incarceration in Urban Portugal’. Ethnography 9(3): 325–350.

Spedding, Alison, L. 1999. ‘Dreams of Leaving: Life in the Feminine Penitentiary Centre, Miraflores, La Paz, Bolivia’. Anthropology Today 15(2): 11-17.

Bandyopadhyay, M. 2010. Everyday Life in a Prison: Confinement, Surveillance, Resistance. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan.

Feldman A. 1991. Formations of Violence: The Narrative of the Body and Political Terror in Northern Ireland. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.