HIST 2422 - The History of the U.S. Prison

(crosslisted) AMST 2422
(HA-AS)

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

J. Kohler-Hausmann.

Examines how the United States came to rely primarily on the prison to address crime and social disorder, and ultimately arrived at a scale of incarceration without international or historic precedent. Scrutinizes how racial hierarchies, social movements, the political economy, and prisoners themselves influenced the development of the penal system and in turn, how the growth in the carceral system has reshaped U.S. society. Will focus on key turning points in the history of the U.S. prison, such as the birth of the prison in the late 18th century, the Jacksonian and Progressive era prison reforms, and the convict leasing system in the south after the Civil War. We will give particular attention to the period since 1945 and the roots of today’s hyper-incarceration, such as “law and order” politics and the “War on Drugs.”