Date of Award
Summer 2019
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
School
Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Committee Chair
William W. Johnson
Committee Chair School
Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Committee Member 2
Joshua Hill
Committee Member 2 School
Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Committee Member 3
Laura Gulledge
Committee Member 3 School
Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Committee Member 4
Jennifer Lemacks
Committee Member 4 School
Kinesiology and Nutrition
Abstract
According to Garland (2001), the U.S. correctional system is a reflection of the culture of control that exists in American society. One way the correctional system exerts control is through food. This concept partnered with Foucault’s ideas about the evolution of punishment and the criminal justice system as an institution creates the theoretical foundation for food as a method of control in the correctional system.
Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this study examined food as a method of control in three southern Mississippi jails in order to understand how food is a contested space for control between jail staff and inmates. After interviewing and surveying inmates and staff, the researcher was able to propose a model in which inmates and staff use food as a method of control, but mostly indirectly. Both inmates and staff use food in order to shape identity. The results of this research can be used to influence correctional food best practices.
Copyright
2019, Zoe Livengood
Recommended Citation
Livengood, Zoe, "What's Cookin'?: An Analysis of Food as a Method of Control in the Penal System" (2019). Master's Theses. 657.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/657