Punishment and Culture by Philip Smith


ISBN
9780226766102
Published
Binding
Paperback
Pages
224
Dimensions
15 x 23 x 1mm

From the chain gang to the electric chair, the problem of how to deal with criminals has long been debated. What explains this concern with getting punishment right? And why do attitudes toward particular punishments change radically over time? In addressing these questions, Philip Smith attacks the comfortable myth that punishment is about justice, reason, and law. Instead he argues that punishment is an essentially irrational act founded in ritual as a means to control evil without creating more of it in the process.
Punishment and Culture traces three centuries of the history of punishment, looking in detail at issues ranging from public executions and the development of the prison to Jeremy Bentham's notorious panopticon and the invention of the guillotine. Smith contends that each of these attempts to achieve sterile bureaucratic control was thwarted as uncontrollable cultural forces generated alternative visions of heroic villains, darkly gothic technologies, and sacred awe. Moving from Andy Warhol to eighteenth-century highwaymen to Orwell's 1984, Smith puts forward a dazzling account of the cultural landscape of punishment. His findings will fascinate students of sociology, history, criminology, law, and cultural studies.
EOFY 2025 Book Frenzy
52.69
RRP: $61.99
15% off RRP


This product is unable to be ordered online. Please check in-store availability.
Instore Price: $61.99
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

Other Titles by Philip Smith

Listen and Read Favorite Irish Fairy Tales
12.99
11.04
15% Off
101 BestLoved Poems
21.99
18.69
15% Off
Durkheim And After
36.95
31.41
15% Off

You might also like


RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.