Presenter(s): Zoe Wassman
Faculty Mentor(s): Caoimhin OFearghail
Oral Session 3 SW
When American incarceration rates were at their peak in 2008, 1 out of every 100 adults were in prison or jail1. If prisons were successful at keeping criminals off the street, punishing offenders cost-effectively, preparing them for re-entry, and deterring future offenders, that figure would not be so troubling. Research, however, indicates that incarceration fails to fulfill any of its promised results; the current system is both unsustainable and arguably increases crime rates. In this study, I use an interdisciplinary approach to explore how elements of American culture such as the “American Dream” ideal, capitalism, chronic individualism, founding morals, and even our use of language inhibit our ability to feel empathy for criminals, and thus support the existing structures of institutional corrections. The tentative results suggest that the roots of the current failure of U.S. corrections are cultural, and that solving them will require a reassessment of our fundamental values and the courage to make bold decisions before they reach crisis levels. For my research, I used text from “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive” by Jarod Diamond, anthropologist, ecologist, and Professor of Geography at UCLA; “From the Native’s Point of View,” a paper by Clifford Geertz, world-renowned anthropologist and philosopher; research presented by Lena Boroditsky on “How Language Shapes Thought”; and reputable online resources for various facts and figures, including the Civil Rights Journal and The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Alexander, Elizabeth (Fall 1998). “A Troubling Response To Overcrowded Prisons”, Civil Rights Journal.