Universität Wien

140288 AG T IV - VM4 - VM8 - Research within Prison Settings: Ethical and Methodological Concerns (2013S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 14 - Orientalistik, Afrikanistik, Indologie und Tibetologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 12.03. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 19.03. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 09.04. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 16.04. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 23.04. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 30.04. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 07.05. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 14.05. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 28.05. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 04.06. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 11.06. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 18.06. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 25.06. 16:00 - 18:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Prisoners are vulnerable as research participants because their liberty is restricted in several ways. Hence any research with prisoners have to be well thought for methodological and ethical concerns. The voluntariness of consent may be compromised in prisons. Prisoners have severely curtailed freedom and choices. Second, privacy and confidentiality are compromised in prisons. If some information is disclosed, it may lead to embarrassment, stigmatization, retaliation, or additional punishment. (Lo, B 2009) In this light, being conscious and aware of methodological and ethical concerns in prison research becomes important. This course will deal with various research methods used in prison setting and discuss the ethical challenges one faces in a prison setting.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students will be assessed based on two criteria: Class participation and a written exam (50% each). Class participation includes reading the text and discussing in class. Active participation is expected based on the reading. A written exam will be conducted on the last day of the course. It will contain two essay type questions 600 words each. This paper will be assessed on the content (30%), structure (10%) and organization and development of the essay (10%). Further details pertaining to assessment will be provided during the course.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

This course is designed to introduce students to prison research. It will also give the students an understanding of the methodological and ethical challenges faced during the research. Finally this course aims to encourage students to undertake research within the Criminal Justice System.

Examination topics

This course will follow a lecture-discussion mode with a focus on discussion in class on the basis of reading material which will be provided at the beginning of the course. There will be group activities/role play on situations in a field setting; typically a prison. Students are also encouraged make presentations in class on prison research topics. There will also be a visit to a prison in/out of Vienna with an aim to study the prison environment.

Reading list

Liebling, Alison. "Doing research in prison: breaking the silence?." Theoretical Criminology 3, no. 2 (1999): 147-173.

Jackson, Bruce. Fieldwork. University of Illinois Press, 1987.

Newman, Donald J. "Research interviewing in prison." The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 49, no. 2 (1958): 127-132.

Marsh, Ian. Theories of crime. Routledge, 2006.

Steinke, Ines, Ernst von Kardoff, and Uwe Flick, eds. A companion to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited, 2004.

Maruna, Shadd. "Mixed Method Research in Criminology: Why Not Go Both Ways?." Handbook of Quantitative Criminology (2010): 123-140.

Huggins, Martha K., and Marie-Louise Glebbeek. "Women studying violent male institutions: Cross-gendered dynamics in police research on secrecy and danger." Theoretical Criminology 7, no. 3 (2003): 363-387.

Davis, Angela Y. Are prisons obsolete?. Open Media, 2003.

Wacquant, Loïc. "The newpeculiar institution': On the prison as surrogate ghetto." Theoretical criminology 4, no. 3 (2000): 377-389.

Garland, David. "Frameworks of Inquiry in the Sociology of Punishment." British Journal of Sociology (1990): 1-15.

Jacobsen, Karen, and Loren B. Landau. "The dual imperative in refugee research: some methodological and ethical considerations in social science research on forced migration." Disasters 27, no. 3 (2003): 185-206.

Foucault, Michel. "Discipline and Punish, trans." Alan Sheridan. New York: Pantheon 30 (1977).

This is not the entire list of reading but the above texts will be discussed. Students are encouraged to suggest literature that could be additionally read and discussed.

Association in the course directory

T IV, VM4, VM8

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:34