Prisons and Punishment in Texas
Subtitle: Culture, History and Museological Representation
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: Jul 06, 2016
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 258
ISBN-13: 9781137533074
Description: This book explores the identity of Texas as a state with a large and severe penal system. It does so by assessing the narratives at work in Texas museums and tourist sites associated with prisons and punishment. In such cultural institutions, complex narratives are presented, which show celebratory stories of Texan toughness in the penal sphere, as well as poignant stories about the witnessing of executions, comical stories that normalize the harsher aspects of Texan punishment, and presentations about prison officers who have lost their lives in the war on crime. In analysing these representations, the book shows that Texan history plays an important role in the production of Texan self-identity, and that to understand the Texan commitment to harsh punishment we must be prepared to focus on Texan myths and memories.
Notes: Source title: Prisons and Punishment in Texas: Culture, History and Museological Representation (Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology)