Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
The Politics of Abolition (1974) by Thomas Mathiesen is one of the most influential works in penal abolitionism and critical criminology. In a radical departure from traditional theories of punishment, Mathiesen advocates not for alternative forms of punishment, but for the abolition of the prison system altogether—calling into question the legitimacy of the entire penal
Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates by Erving Goffman is one of the most influential sociological works of the 20th century. Originally published in 1961, the book presents a powerful analysis of psychiatric hospitals and similar institutions, which Goffman defines as total institutions. These settings, according to Goffman, profoundly
Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish is one of the most influential works of critical social analysis in the 20th century. Published in 1975, the book marks the beginning of Foucault’s “genealogical” phase and investigates the historical transformations of power, punishment, and subjectivity. At its core is the shift from corporal punishment to subtle, pervasive disciplinary