Alice Castillo’s Profile

This course ex­am­ines the his­tory of crim­i­nal pun­ish­ment in West­ern so­ci­ety, em­pha­siz­ing the United States. The course high­lights so­cial forces (po­lit­i­cal, re­li­gious, eco­nomic, and tech­no­log­i­cal) shap­ing pun­ish­ment; re­views com­mon the­o­ries (de­ter­rence, ret­ri­bu­tion, re­ha­bil­i­ta­tion, in­ca­pac­i­ta­tion, and restora­tion) and ex­am­ines how the­ory re­lates to pol­icy. The course takes a crit­i­cal ap­proach to cor­rec­tional sys­tems and poli­cies by con­sid­er­ing dis­par­i­ties and struc­tural in­equal­i­ties. Em­pir­i­cal ev­i­dence is used to ex­am­ine con­tem­po­rary crises of pun­ish­ment (i.e., mass in­car­cer­a­tion, school-to-prison pipeline) as well as prison cul­ture, staffing, pri­va­ti­za­tion, and pris­oner civil rights. Al­ter­na­tives to tra­di­tional pun­ish­ment, es­pe­cially restora­tive jus­tice mod­els, are ex­plored.

This course examines the history of criminal punishment in Western society, emphasizing the United States. The course highlights social forces (political, religious, economic, and technological) shaping punishment; reviews common theories (deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and restoration) and examines how theory relates to policy. The course takes a critical approach to correctional systems and policies by considering disparities and structural inequalities. Empirical evidence is used to examine contemporary crises of punishment (i.e., mass incarceration, school-to-prison pipeline) as well as prison culture, staffing, privatization, and prisoner civil rights. Alternatives to traditional punishment, especially restorative justice models, are explored.