The Consequences of Prisoners' Micro-Resistance

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (01) ◽  
pp. 138-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley T. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Archival Data ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Eastern State ◽  
Eastern State Penitentiary ◽  
Single Set

For more than twenty years, scholars have called for greater attention to the consequences of micro-resistance to legality. Using archival data from Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary (1829–1875), I examine the consequences of noncompliant prisoner behavior. I find that prisoners' noncompliance often entailed substantial costs to prisoners, particularly in comparison to the substantial benefits of complying with the prison regime. Despite its cost to prisoners, noncompliance did not have a single set of uniformly negative consequences for the prison regime. In fact, some forms of noncompliance may have actually protected the prison's reputation. Prison administrators, external allies, and critics used episodes of noncompliance for their own goals and to reinforce their preexisting claims about the propriety of competing prison designs, yielding this variable significance of noncompliance. As this study illustrates, connecting prisoner misconduct to power dynamics in the broader field produces a fuller understanding of micro-resistance's consequences.

“The Eye of God”

2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muriel Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Solitary Confinement ◽  
Eastern State ◽  
Philosophy Of Punishment ◽  
Christian View ◽  
Eastern State Penitentiary ◽  
Christian Beliefs

At the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, prison reformers were engaged in a broad debate about punishment, legal theories, and the rehabilitation of criminals. At that time, philosophical and theological arguments were tightly entangled. Eastern State Penitentiary, built in 1829 in Philadelphia by Quakers, was the sole, radical example of a strict regime of solitary confinement, and became the embodiment of a Christian view of punishment as penitence. This article suggests a reading of Eastern State within its Christian background and raises the broader issue of how Christian beliefs influenced the modern philosophy of punishment.

scholarly journals The social ecology of power in participatory research

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Roura
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Inequities ◽  
The Social

Abstract Issue As health research funding institutions increasingly require researchers to engage with patients and the public, stakeholder involvement claims have become popular. However, there are renewed concerns that its underpinning participatory requirements are merely applied as a tick-box exercise. Widespread advocacy for the approach without due problematisation is troubling, as it may ultimately reinforce the social inequities that it originally intended to address. Description of the Problem Success histories avail the enormous potential of participatory research but important caveats caution against romanticizing the approach. Despite its enormous potential, there are increasing concerns that participatory research can become a risky method of social inquiry, with potential negative consequences. The “dark side” of participation speaks of the professional and personal risks for the researchers and stakeholders involved, where diverging interests and underlying power inequities are not acknowledged and adequately managed. Results Robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks that explicitly account for power dynamics are urgently needed to assess the distribution of both the benefits and costs derived from participatory research. We outline a socio-ecological framework to comprehensively examine micro, meso and macro level factors influencing processes and outcomes in participatory research, so power dynamics can be adequately monitored and addressed. Lessons If the credibility and legitimacy of participatory research is to be sustained, strategies to monitor and tackle power dynamics are urgently needed. Key messages Power dynamics in participatory research can operate at micro, meso and macro levels. We present a socio-ecological framework to evaluate power dynamics in participatory research.

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