Sociological Function of Prisons in Ireland

Paper Summary:

The paper states that the function of the prison in society is three-fold. The prison should be a place of social vengeance, a place to separate those who are dangerous to society and a place where reformation takes place. The paper addresses the functions of prison in society as they apply to the prison system in modern Ireland. The paper concludes that this will support the thesis that the prison serves the purpose of a political tool.

Outline:
Traditional Purpose of Prison
Foucault on Discipline and Society
Prisons in Ireland
Hunger Strikes: Prisoners Strike Back
Political Prisoners versus Common Criminals

From the Paper:

" Our modern prison system grew out of the social constructs of the 18th and 19th centuries. Prisons are institutions that exert power and control over those within its walls. It claims to be an egalitarian system, yet uses a hierarchical system of control. Foucault credits the ability to exploit the prison system to the rise of the bourgeouisie in the 18th century. His primary argument is that discipline creates the necessary supply of "docile bodies" that were needed for the new economy, particularly the industrial age."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bobby Sand Trust. (2000). Background to the Hunger Strike. http://www.bobbysandstrust.org/blanket.asp Accessed December 19, 2007.
• Cassidy, T. (1992). Formations of Violence: The Narrative of the Body and Political Terror in Northern Ireland. The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 98, No. 3 (Nov., 1992), pp. 659-660.
• Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Foucault: On Panoptic and Carceral Society." Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. Date of last update, which you can find on the home page. Purdue U. Date you accessed the site. http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/newhistoricism/modules/foucaultcarceral.html.
• Foucault, Michel (1975). Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison, New York: Random House. pg. 222
• Grubacic, A. Remembering Bobby Sands. Z Magsite. May 2006. http://zmagsite.zmag.org/May2006/grubacic0506.html Accessed December 19, 2007. "Hunger Strike 1980-1982." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/northern_ireland/understanding/events/hunger_stri ke.stm Accessed December 19, 2007.

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