The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Ethnography / Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology (PDF)

Helen Arnold, University Campus Suffolk, UK
Lilian Ayete-Nyampong, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Ghana
Mahuya Bandyopadhyay, Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India
Jamie Bennett is Governor of HMP Grendon/Springhill and holds a PhD in Criminology.
Kristel Beyens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Miranda Boone, University of Groningen, Netherlands, and Utrecht University, Netherlands
Lucy Carr, University of Sheffield, UK
Gilles Chantraine, CNRS CLERSÉ, France
Ben Crewe, University of Cambridge, UK
William Davies, Leeds Beckett University, UK
Deborah H. Drake, The Open University, UK
Rod Earle, The Open University, UK
Elisabeth Fransson, Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy
Joel Harvey, Kings College London, UK
Alice Ievins, University of Cambridge, UK
Andrew M. Jefferson, DIGNITY: Danish Institute Against Torture
Yvonne Jewkes, University of Leicester, UK
Berit Johnsen, Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy
AlisonLiebling, University of Cambridge, UK
Tomas Max Martin, Danish Institute for Human Rights
Benita Moolmana, Human and Social Development Unit in Cape Town, South Africa
Martyn Hammersley The Open University, UK
Coretta Phillips, London School of Economics, UK
Laura Piacentini, University of Strathclyde, UK
Lorna A. Rhodes, University of Washington, USA
Abigail Rowe, The Open University, UK
Nicolas Sallée, Université de Montréal, Canada
David Scott, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Jennifer Sloan, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Christina Straub, Leeds University, UK
Thomas Ugelvik, University of Oslo, Norway
James B. Waldram, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Lindsay Whetter, University of Exeter, UK
Serena Wright, University of Cambridge, UK

"Undertaking ethnographic observation in prisons troubles its practitioners. Ethnography as a research practice always presents profound challenges; in prisons the ambivalences and embarrassments, the divided loyalties, the fascinations and the tedium, can be demanding and chastening indeed. To their great credit the editors of this beautifully conceived and executed volume neither shy away from these problems nor merely indulge in them. Instead they and their contributors take a measured and reflective look at the problems that prison ethnography raises, including those it cannot resolve. Cumulatively, these essays tell us why it matters that the ethnographic study of places of confinement never be eclipsed and why in the end it will not be. In the future everyone who contemplates doing such work will want to reckon with this book and will have reason to be grateful for its lessons" - Richard Sparks, Professor of Criminology and Head of School of Law, University of Edinburgh, UK

"This Handbook offers a rich, honest, challenging and fascinating overview of prison ethnographies in over 10 countries. It discusses important theoretical issues and methodological dilemmas inherent in conducting qualitative, and more particularly ethnographic, inquiry in prisons, while providing at the same time an authoritative account of prison conditions around the world. By looking not only at how ethnography enhances understanding of the prison, but also how prison ethnographies contribute to our understanding of the ethnographic enterprise, it will be an invaluable source for students, practitioners and researchers both within and beyond criminological and prison studies." Sonja Snacken, Professor of Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium