1st Edition
Convict Criminology for the Future
Bringing together a variety of diverse international contributors from the Convict Criminology community, Convict Criminology for the Future surveys the historical roots of Convict Criminology, the current challenges experienced by formerly incarcerated people, and future directions for the field.
Over the past two decades research has been conducted in the field of Convict Criminology, recognizing that the convict voice has long been ignored or marginalized in academia, criminal justice practice, and public policy debates. This edited volume provides a much-needed update on the state of the field and how it has evolved. Seven primary themes are examined.
- Historical underpinnings of Convict Criminology
- Adaptations to prison life
- Longstanding challenges for prisoners and formerly incarcerated people
- Post-secondary education behind bars
- The expansion of Convict Criminology beyond North America
- Conducting scholarly research in carceral settings
- Future directions in Convict Criminology
A global line up of contributors, from the fields of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law, Political Science, and Sociology, comprehensively tackle each topic, reviewing causes, reactions, and solutions to challenges. The volume also includes a chronology of significant events in the history of Convict Criminology.
Integrating current events with research using a variety of methods in scholarly analysis, Convict Criminology for the Future is invaluable reading for students and scholars of corrections, criminology, criminal justice, law, and sociology.
Foreword: Shadd Maruna
1. Introduction: Convict Criminology for the Future
Jeffrey Ian Ross and Francesca Vianello
2. Context is Everything: Understanding the Scholarly, Social, and Pedagogical Origins of Convict Criminology
Jeffrey Ian Ross
3. Crossing Borders, Pushing Boundaries and Privileging ‘Marginalised’ Voices: Surviving Motherhood in Prison
Sinem Safak Bozkurt, Marisa Merico, Andreas Aresti and Sacha Darke
4. Doing Time for Convict Criminology
Rod Earle
5. A convict-counter information to contest crime-press dis-information
Elton Kalica
6. In the pool without a life jacket: Status fragility and Convict Criminology in the Current Criminological Era
Grant Tietjen and Daniel Ryan Kavish
7. A Convict Criminology approach to prisoner families
Alison Cox
8. Developing Convict Criminology: Notes from Italy
Francesca Vianello
9. It’s time! Towards a Southern Convict Criminology
Valeria Vegh Weiss
10. University Education in Prison and Convict Criminology: Reflections from a field research study
Andrea Borghini and Gerardo Pastore
11. The Convict University project and the autoethnography of the biographical changeover. A case study based on mutual narratives between external and convict students
Vincenza Pellegrino, Veronica Valenti, and Claudio Conte
12. Can the "psychiatric prisoner" speak? Notes from Convict Criminology and Disability Studies
Luca Sterchele
13. Radicalization and experiences of detention
Alvise Sbraccia
14. The reaction of the Italian Prison Administration in the face of a Convict Criminologist
Giovanni Torrente
15. Rethinking Punishment: Prison research and the (un)intended challenges of institutional research ethics review
James Gacek and Rosemary Ricciardelli
16. Conclusion: What does the future hold for Convict Criminology?
Francesca Vianello and Jeffrey Ian Ross
Appendix: Chronology of events in the history of Convict Criminology
Biography
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is Professor in the School of Criminal Justice, College of Public Affairs, and Research Fellow of the Center for International and Comparative Law, at the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore.
Francesca Vianello, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in Sociology of Law, Deviance and Social Change in the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology at the University of Padua, where she teaches Sociology of Law, Sociology of Deviance, and Sociology of Prison Life.
"With the astonishing expansion of criminology courses across the world, I became convinced, at one point, that there were more criminologists than criminals. Thankfully, Convict Criminology provides an appropriate sieve, as its contributions derive from prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and academics who work or conduct research in correctional institutions. Proximity to the world of custody entails the choice of fitting methodologies, namely ethnography and self-ethnography, which distinguishes this criminological school from other ‘distant’, conventional, lifeless perspectives. Sarcastically, one may suggest that Convict Criminology was bound to see its inception in the US, the country with the highest prisoners’ population in the world. This excellent collection, however, is international in nature, offers several analytical angles while addressing national as well as global issues. This book is a breath of fresh air."
-Vincenzo Ruggiero, Ph.D., Professor, Middlesex University
"This thoughtful book assembles the most current research and thinking on the subject of Convict Criminology and moves the needle forward in terms of scholarly research and thinking. The contributions are written by a team of internationally respected and diverse scholars. Convict Criminology for the future will be of interest to researchers, students and activists."
-Professor Richard S. Jones, Ph.D., Marquette University
"Reaffirming the unique scholarly value of direct experience to the wider field of carceral studies, this important collection both expands on and refines what Convict Criminology has come to mean – as an established if still evolving academic subfield with increasingly global reach and as a distinctly collective project with profound social implications. The thematically varied and conceptually rich contributions deepen our understanding of the layered harms of in/justice systems across a range of jurisdictions and offer nuanced detail of the significant obstacles impacted scholars encounter. There could hardly be a more pertinent moment or a more fertile political context in which to pay close attention to this growing network of compelling voices."
-Jessica Bird, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor, Criminology, Law & Justice Department, University of Illinois at Chicago
"This book serves as a capstone summarization of current and past research presentations of convict criminology scholars and illustrates the development of new and unique theoretical perspectives. Convict Criminology for the Future will make an excellent addition to courses of theory, practice, prisons, and correctional resources. It can be both a stand-alone text or a supportive text for courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Convict Criminology for the Future will serve as an intriguing and, at times, a controversial source of discussion for courses, seminars, and other academic pursuits. This book will not replace the original Convict Criminology text. It will, however, serve to provide new challenges to policy, possibly influence legislation, or as Steve Richards remarks, ‘We have been tough on crime long enough, now it is time to be smart on crime."
- excerpt from 'Contemporary Justice Review', Matthew J. Sheridan, Department of Criminal Justice, Anthropology Sociology and Human Rights, Georgian Court University, USA
"Jeffrey Ian Ross and Francesca Vianello write about the growth of convict criminology and recount the development of convict criminology over twenty-five years since its emergence at the annual meetings of the ASC. Ross also mentions the expansion of prison abolition as a movement as a condition that has contributed to the emergence of convict criminology. What these authors accomplish is bringing the standpoint of women more fully into convict criminology and allowing for a feminist perspective within convict criminology—one that is very much needed and appreciated.
This volume made me reconsider how I can help ensure that the insights, stories, and views of convict criminologists can be put to use to promote social change. Convict Criminology for the Future should be read widely by criminologists, as well as by anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, and anyone interested in punishment and imprisonment. "
- from Critical Criminology: An International Journal, Kevin Walby, Review of CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE, published: 2021
