Untangling Prisonization: A Critical Examination of the Carceral Experience

Abstract

CJ381: Theoretical Perspectives on Prisonization Completely Agree: Definition of Prisonization I can completely agree with the definition and concept of "prisonization" as coined by Clemmer and expressed by Clark on her thesis. Basically, Clemmer (1940, 270) defines prisonization as the degree to which incarcerated individuals adopt the culture, norms, and social structure of the prison environment. It is a concept has been widely accepted and utilized in criminological research to understand how prisons shape the behaviors and attitudes of inmates. Completely Disagree: Inclusion of aspects of neighborhoods and communities from which prisoners are removed within the prison subculture I completely disagree with the assertion that aspects of the neighborhoods and communities from which prisoners are removed are expected to be present in the prison subculture. Such a statement suggests a direct continuity between outside community norms and those inside prisons, which might not always make sense as the two environments differ significantly. Just to be precise, prisons often develop their own distinct subcultures influenced by factors unique to the incarcerated environment, such as power dynamics, survival strategies, and adaptations to institutional rules which is not the case with the outside prison environment. Not Sure: Presence of features of convict code in prison nationwide I might not be entirely sure about the claim that the features of the convict code are present in prisons nationwide and persist over time with little variability. While it is acknowledged that certain norms and codes develop within prison environments, the extent of their uniformity across different institutions and over time can vary significantly defining a contrary expectation as one assumed by the claim above. To this effect, further empirical research would be needed to confirm the consistency and persistence of these codes across diverse prison settings to justify the truth about the aforementioned claim. Reference...