Penology: It's a Thing

[the_deep_magic]

I'm taking a course called "Faith-Based Programs in Criminal Justice: A Critical Examination," but the professor who teaches it specializes in the sociology of punishment, so... I am taking a course in the sociology of punishment.  Which is fine, because the material is interesting, and the guy is the chair of the department, so he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants.  He's obviously very invested in it and knows all there is to know about the sociology of punishment.  Unfortunately, he seems to be trying to teach it to us it all at once.  So tonight the lecture veered from King Henry II and English common law to the "crisis of penal modernity" to the doctrine of deterrence to the importance of lacrosse practice to instrumental vs. expressive punishment to salsa dancing to informal social control systems to sources of prison overcrowding to the price of beer.

I have a hard enough time following my own train of thought half the time.  Hopefully this guy settles down and I won't leave every class feeling like my brain just went through the spin cycle.  Oy.

Having studied in several disciplines now, I find the gender breakdown of each one interesting.  Somewhat surprisingly, my criminal justice classmates are mostly female: only two guys in a class of eleven and one in a class of five (that class started with eight students -- guess which class it is).  Haven't counted the guys in my online class, but there aren't many.  Rhetoric and composition was actually fairly evenly split.  Philosophy was a total boy's club -- I had some female professors, but there were only two other female students in the department, one other major and one minor.  The rest were guys.  (Not that it did me any damn good; I was friends with the girl who was minoring in it, and she once complained [quite accurately], "These stupid philosophy boys just want to talk about love and all I want to do is jump 'em.")

Did I have a point?  My linear thinking capabilities have been temporarily compromised.  This semester is going to be all about punishment and deviance.  You have been warned.

Penal modernity.

Comments

[verizonhorizon.livejournal.com]

So you're going to write Kirk/Spock BDSM?

Also, penis.

Penis.

I was going to say something about academia, but instead: penis.

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

Actually, it has to be public, so I was thinking about reading some K/S very loudly in the middle of the mall...

...and then dying of shame, so no. But there's a distinct chance that some of the material will spawn plotbunnies.

For srs, I am going to have to engage in some type of immersion therapy, surrounding myself with variants on the word "penology" so I don't giggle every time I hear/read it.

[greenteaduck.livejournal.com]

Woooooow nothing is worse than a bad lecturer who has authority over the department.. But this sounds like some interesting times ahead :P

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

"Interesting" is one word for it. I'm hoping he'll calm down and realize he has the entire semester to teach us this stuff? If not, I'll definitely be sharpening my concentration skills.

[fatty-fat.livejournal.com]

seconding all above statements made regarding penis.

oh man, this guy... well, he could be awesome or a real hardship, haha. hopefully he was just trying to get you guys in the mood for some excitingly dictated lectures on the sociology of punishment? which sounds fascinating, btw. hopefully it proves to be as interesting as it sounds. maybe there will be less on salsa dancing next time (still struggling to make the connection on that one) and more on punishment-y things.

also: penal. punishment. deviance. that is all. (prison-wife AU is go?)

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

I think the salsa dancing stemmed from a point he was making about social cohesion, and he asked a girl what social groups she belonged to, and she said a salsa-dancing club, and it went from there with salsa dancing being the example he kept returning to. I'm still not sure how the lacrosse practice fit in. Something about "taking it to the wall," which just sounded dirty to me, but... hello, head full of deviance and punishment.

Yes, I'm thinking there will be fic. Even if I don't want there to be fic. I try so hard to keep RL separate from fandom!