Punishment and Society (SOC 3660)

Instructor Information
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Phone number:
Office Hours:

Dr. Nicole Kaufman

105 Bentley Annex
kaufmann@ohio.edu
(740) 593-1372
Monday and Wednesday, 3:00-5:00 PM

Class Information
Class Schedule:
Location:
Credit hours:
Pre-requisite:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 2-2:55 PM

304 Bentley Hall
3
SOC 2600

Required Readings: The reading assignments will be available digitally on

our course site on Blackboard.
Course Description: This class examines several aspects of punishment:
its definition, forms, the reasoning behind it, and its social significance. We
will mainly focus on contemporary punishment practices in the United
States, with recognition of the historical roots of our practices in Western
Europe. As we consider patterns in punishment from a sociological
standpoint, we will investigate the forms and social conditions in which
punishment occurs. We will identify the multiple, variable rationales for these
responses to law-breaking. Focusing on contemporary punishment and mass
incarceration practices, we will investigate the societal implications of
punishment for heavily punished populations as well as for economic
mobility, access to health care, and democracy.
Learning outcomes: After completing this course, students will be able to:
Define and apply a definition of punishment to an example
Understand the components of criminal laws/ penal codes
Identify the forms of contemporary punishment and recognize internal
variations within states in the U.S.
Recognize major populations experiencing punishment in the U.S.
today
Understand four major rationales for punishment
Recognize critiques of punishment practices
Understand the relevance of social forces and contexts in shaping
punishment practices
Develop legal research skills through gathering information on and
analyzing one criminal law/ penal code; develop critical thinking and
sociological research skills by analyzing how this law is actually applied
and its consequences
1

Compare alternative responses to the same behavior

Responsibilities and Policies:

Student Responsibilities: Students are expected to be familiar with Ohio
University policies and procedures. (See the Code of Conduct here:
http://www.ohio.edu/communitystandards/). If a situation arises that prevents
the successful completion of this course, it is each student's responsibility to
formally withdraw from this course.
Accessibility: Any student who suspects s/he may need an accommodation
based on the impact of a disability should contact the class instructor
privately to discuss the students specific needs and provide written
documentation from the Office of Student Accessibility Services. If the
student is not yet registered as a student with a disability, s/he should
contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services in Baker at (740) 5932620. It is best to request these accommodations at the beginning so there is
ample time to make the accommodations.
Academic Integrity: Academic integrity an expectation in all OU classes
and applies in this class. Put simply, passing off another persons work or
ideas as your own will not be permitted. The Ohio University Student Code of
Conduct prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty, including: cheating,
plagiarism, forgery, and collusion. Students who fail to observe these
standards are subject to disciplinary action: I will reduce the grade of the
assignment and report the incident to the students advisor and the Office of
Community Standards and Student Responsibility. Students may appeal
academic sanctions through the grade appeal process.
Attendance: Regular attendance is expected. Students who miss class
should seek notes and materials from peers. When absence is due to an
emergency, documented medical condition or illness, authorized university
activity, or military service/training, and the reason is documented, the
student and instructor can work together to accommodate the absence.
Sensitivity: Many of the topics we will discuss will be sensitive. So that our
classroom feels safe for everyone, our discussions require an environment of
mutual respect. Differences in experiences make the classroom rich. There
may be times when you hear opinions that you do not agree with, in the
service of discussing complicated social issues. However, please notify me if
you feel uncomfortable with the way we are going about discussions or
addressing the course content.

Syllabus Changes: As your instructor, I retain the right to make changes

based on the timeline of the class, feedback from learners, or logistical
issues. I will inform you as soon as a change is made.
Use of Electronic Devices: Tablets and laptops are permissible for specific
functions: to pull up assigned readings and take notes. There will be points
deducted from the participation grade when devices are used in a way that
distracts the user and others from class. There is no cell phone use in class.
Note about Slides: It is my policy not to distribute power point slides from
lecture. Please ask after class, in office hours, or via email if you wish to
review the slides.
Grading:
The breakdown of the grade will be:
In-class activities and
quizzes
10%
This portion of the grade is made up of in-class discussion,
written in-class
responses, and in-class pop quizzes.
Exams
.40%
Midterm exam (20%). October 19.
Final exam (non-cumulative, 20%). December 5.
The exams will be based on comprehension of and critical
thinking about the core ideas presented both in readings
and in class. The exams will test how well students
understand crucial concepts, especially those I will put on
the term sheet to be distributed leading up to the exam.
The exams will have a combination of multiple choice and
written identification questions. One page (two-sided) of
written notes will be allowed at the exams.
Semester-long project ...............................................................50%
Assignment #1: Topic selection. Pick one law from a list
of criminal laws/penal codes. 8/31. (1%)
Assignment #2: Explain the components of the law you
are focusing on, which show that this is an example of
punishment. 9/19. (10%)
Assignment #3: Discuss the forms of punishment
involved. 10/17. (5%)
3

Assignment #4: Discuss the reasons used to justify the

punishment. 11/9. (15%)
Final paper. In addition to the content of all the prior
writing assignments, discuss who is punished and who
punishes; describe the consequences of this criminal
law/penal code as it is carried out; and compare a response
to similar behavior in another jurisdiction or another time.
12/5. (19%)

Percentages on assignments and exams will translate to the following

grades:
95-100
90-94
87-89
84-86
80-83
77-79

74-76
AB+
B
BC+

70-73
67-69
64-66
60-63
59 or below

C
CD+
D
DF

The final grade for the semester is not negotiable, except in the case of a
calculation error.
Appealing a grade: Please take 24 hours before speaking to the instructor
about a graded assignment or exam score.
Late Assignments: Papers are due at the beginning of class in paper form
and on Safe Assign via Blackboard. Work is considered late when it does not
meet these specifications. For every day late, I will deduct 10% of the
possible points for that assignment. Exceptions can be granted in the case of
a documented emergency.

C OURSE C ALENDAR
Date
Topic
Monday,
Course overview
August 22
What is punishment?
Wednesday,
Is it punishment?
August 24

Assignment Due

Associated Press. 2012. Anders Behring

Breivik Complains of Inhumane Conditions in
Prison. The Guardian, November 9.
Koran, Mario. 2013. Lost Signals,
Disconnected Lives. WisconsinWatch.org,
March.
Pearce, Matt, Cindy Carcamo, and Maya
Srikrishnan. 2014. Arizona Killer takes Two
Hours to Die, Fueling Lethal-Injection Debate.
Los Angeles Times, July 23.

Friday, August

Defining punishment

McDonough, Katie. 2014. First Woman

Arrested under Tennessee Law that
Criminalizes Pregnancy Outcomes. Salon, July
11.
Walker, Nigel. 1991. Why Punish? Oxford:
5

26

Oxford University Press. Pp. 1-5.

Garland, David. 1992. Punishment and Society:
A Study in Social Theory. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press. Pp. 16 (middle)-22.

Mon., August
29

Components of a
criminal law/penal code
(1)
Wed., August
Components of a
31
criminal law/penal code
(2)
Forms of Punishment
Fri, September
Corporal punishments
2
in the colonial era
No class on Mon., Sept. 5
Wed., Sept. 7
Discuss projects
Fri., Sept. 9
Library Session with
Paul Campbell / Sheri
Saines
Mon., Sept. 12
Decline of corporal and
capital punishment
Wed., Sept. 14

The penitentiary: The

Pennsylvania model

Fri., Sept. 16

Wed., Sept. 21

The penitentiary: The

Auburn model
Overview of prisons,
jails and community
supervision in the US
today
Solitary confinement

Fri., Sept. 23
Mon., Sept. 26

Discuss projects
Monetary sanctions

Wed, Sept. 28

Private prisons

Mon., Sept. 19

Topic selection due (assignment #1)

Navin, John J. 2015. Intimidation, Violence and

Race in British America. The Historian 77(3):
464-497.

Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline & Punish:

The Birth of the Prison. New York: Random
House. Pp. 3-17 (top).
Melossi, Dario and Massimo Pavarini. 1981.
The Prison and the Factory: Origins of the
Penitentiary System. London: Macmillan.
Appendix 1. Pp. 163 (bottom) 173 (bottom).
Melossi and Pavarini. Appendix 2. Pp. 173
(bottom) 181.
Assignment #2 due (Components of a
Criminal Law)

Reiter, Keramet. 2012. Statement before the

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights
and Human Rights. June 15.
Beckett, Katherine and Alexes Harris. On cash
and conviction: Monetary sanctions as
misguided policy. Criminology & Public Policy
10(3). Selected pages.
Schartmueller, Doris. 2014. People matter
more than numbers: Organized efforts against
prison privatization in Florida. Contemporary
Justice Review 17(2):233-249.

Why Punish?
6

Fri., Sept. 30

Retribution

Wed., October
5
Fri., Oct. 7

Deterrence (1)

Mon., Oct. 10

Rehabilitation

Deterrence (2)

No class on Wed., Oct. 12

Fri., Oct. 14
Incapacitation
Mon., Oct. 17

Discuss next
assignment, and play
review game
Who Is Punished in the contemporary
Wed., Oct. 19
Midterm exam
Fri., Oct. 21
Dr. Jamie Longazel class
visit
Mon., Oct. 24
Discuss midterm
results; men and
punishment

Wed., Oct. 26

Women and
punishment

Fri., Oct. 28

African Americans and

punishment

Mon., Oct. 31

Older Americans and

punishment

Durkheim, Emile. 1983 reprint. Crime and

punishment. Pp. 59-75 in Durkheim and the
law, edited by Steven Lukes and Andrew Scull.
New York: St. Martins Press.

Wright, Valerie. 2010. Deterrence in Criminal

Justice: Evaluating Certainty vs. Severity of
Punishment. The Sentencing Project,
November.
McKim, Allison. 2008. Getting Gut-Level:
Punishment, Gender and Therapeutic
Governance. Gender & Society 22(3):303-323.
Hager, Eli. 2016. My life in the Supermax.
The Marshall Project and Vice. January 8.
Assignment #3 due (Forms of Punishment
Used)
U.S.?

Herman-Stahl, Mindy, Marni L. Kan, and Tasseli

McKay. 2008. Characteristics of incarcerated
fathers. Part of a broader report prepared for
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, September.
Diaz-Cotto, Juanita. Latina Imprisonment and
the War on Drugs. Pp. 184-195 (notes follow)
in Race, Gender & Punishment: From
Colonialism to the War on Terror, eds. Mary
Bosworth and Jeanne Flavin. New Brunswick:
Rutgers University Press.
Human Rights Watch. 2008. Targeting Blacks:
Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United
States. Pp. 9-29.
Read overview section in this report: Nellis,
Ashley. 2016. The Color of Justice: Racial and
Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons. The
Sentencing Project. June 14.
http://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/
color-of-justice-racial-and-ethnic-disparity-instate-prisons/#I. Overview
Fellner, Jamie. 2013. Graying prisoners. New
York Times, August 18.
7

Wed., Nov. 2

Fri., Nov. 4

LGBT people and

punishment

Juveniles and
punishment (1)

Lambda Legal fact sheet: Transgender

prisoners in crisis.
Flowers, Alison. 2014. Dee Farmer Won a
Landmark Supreme Court Case on Inmate
Rights. But Thats Not the Half of It. Village
Voice. January 29.
Rios, Victor. 2011. The Coupling of Criminal
Justice and Community Institutions. Pp. 74-94
in Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and
Latino Boys. New York: NYU Press.

Mon., Nov. 7

Juveniles (2) and

discuss projects
Wed., Nov. 9
Library session with
Assignment #4 due (Justifications for
Paul Campbell and
Punishment)
Sheri Saines
No class Friday, Nov. 11
Mon., Nov. 14
Review game
Societal Consequences of Punishment
Wed., Nov. 16
Legal sanctions
Mukamal, Debbie A. and Paul N. Samuels.
2002-2003. Statutory Limitations on civil
rights of people with criminal records.
Fordham Urban Law Journal 1501-1518.
Fri., Nov. 18
Work independently on
projects
Mon., Nov. 21
Consequences of
Comfort, Megan. 2012. It Was Basically
punishment for the life
College to Us: Poverty, Prison, and Emerging
course
Adulthood. Journal of Poverty. 16:308-322.
No classes Wed., Nov. 23 or Fri. Nov. 25
Mon., Nov. 28
Consequences of mass
incarceration for
democracy,
employment and public
health
Wed., Nov. 30
Potential consequences
of reform

Fri., December
2
Monday, Dec. 5
at 12:20 PM

Rebecca Burns. 2014. The Unbearable

Whiteness of Legalization. In These Times.
February 19.
http://inthesetimes.com/article/16268/the_unb
earable_whiteness_of_legalization

Concluding class
Exam

Final project due

The lectures, classroom activities, and all materials associated with this class
and developed by the instructor are copyrighted by Dr. Nicole Kaufman on
August 18, 2016.