Overview
- Explores the symbolic significance of prison foodways for identity construction, power, group formation and security.
- Creates unique knowledge about imprisoned people’s experiences in Belgian prisons.
- Examines the historical and contemporary meanings policy makers have attached to prison food.
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology (PSIPP)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Based on the lived experiences of incarcerated persons and staff, this book explores the symbolic significance of prison foodways to normalization, autonomy, identity construction, power, group formation and security. The book also traces the rationalization(s) that policy makers attach to prison food, from the water and bread diet of the 18th century, the contested abolition of alcohol consumption, to the current fear surrounding the spread of COVID-19 through food distribution in prisons. The argument is developed that prison food policies have always reflected how Belgian governments have treated imprisoned persons. The emphasis on Belgian prisons and the discussions on prison foodways situated on a micro and macro level add a unique flavour to prison food scholarship by providing a deeper understanding of a penal culture outside the dominant tradition of Anglo-Saxon and Nordic studies. Consequently, the book provides a nuanced conception of prison foodways for penologists, sociologists, those with interests in wider prison policy, and those working on the socio-cultural role of food in closed environments.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
An-Sofie Vanhouche holds a PhD in Criminology and is Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Criminology and research group Crime & Society, Belgium. She teaches several courses on penology to undergraduates and imprisoned learners. Her research interests lie in the lived experience of imprisonment, prison foodways, and comparative penology.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Prison Food
Book Subtitle: Identity, Meaning, Practices, and Symbolism in European Prisons
Authors: An-Sofie Vanhouche
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96125-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Law and Criminology, Law and Criminology (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-96124-4Published: 12 June 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-96127-5Published: 12 June 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-96125-1Published: 11 June 2022
Series ISSN: 2753-0604
Series E-ISSN: 2753-0612
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 277
Topics: Prison and Punishment, Social Sciences, general, Public Health, Health Psychology, Food Science