CORE 002 SC - Why Punish?

Given the fact that, in 2018, nearly seven million Americans were subject to some form of “correctional supervision,” and over two million Americans were incarcerated, we might think that there must be very compelling answers to the question that serves as this course’s title; and while most of us will agree that particular impositions of punishment are unjust, few of us are likely to dispute the justification of the institution of legal punishment, per se. We aim during the semester to investigate the telling and disorientating relationship between various theories of legal punishment and the realities of legal punishment. We begin with an investigation of a number of influential justifications of punishment and then turn to various accounts and analyses of the shape legal punishment takes in contemporary America. Coursework includes attending writing workshops at the local women’s prison on several Tuesday evenings. Students must be available on Tuesdays, 4:30-8:30 p.m.

Course Credit: 1.0

Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.