|
|
|
|
J o u r n a l o f P r i s o n e r s o n P r i s o n s
|
|
|
|
"...allowing our experiences and analysis to be added to the forum that
will constitute public opinion could help halt the disastrous trend toward building more fortresses of
fear which will become in the 21st century this generation's monuments to failure."
-Jo-Ann Mayhew, from JPP Vol. 1:1 (1988)
|
|
|
General Information
|
|
The Journal of Prisoners on Prisons (JPP) is a prisoner written,
academically oriented and peer reviewed, non-profit journal, based on the tradition
of the penal press. It brings the knowledge produced by prison
writers together with academic arguments to enlighten public
discourse about the current state of carceral institutions. This
is particularly important because with few exceptions, definitions
of deviance and constructions of those participating in these defined
acts are incompletely created by social scientists, media
representatives, politicians and those in the legal community.
These analyses most often promote self-serving interests, omit the
voices of those most affected, and facilitate repressive and
reactionary penal policies and practices. As a result, the JPP
attempts to acknowledge the accounts, experiences, and criticisms
of the criminalized by providing an educational forum that allows
women and men to participate in the development of research that
concerns them directly. In an age where `crime` has become lucrative
and exploitable, the JPP exists as an important alternate source
of information that competes with popularly held stereotypes and
misconceptions about those who are currently, or those who have in
the past, faced the deprivation of liberty.
|
|
Current Issues
|
|
Volume 17, Number 1 of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons focuses on the theme of education inside American and Canadian prisons.
Edited by Justin Piché (Carleton University), the articles focus on a number of topics including the barriers to education faced by prisoners,
the obstacles faced by those who wish to develop scholarly knowledge on imprisonment and the vital role prison writing plays in knowing inside
in the contemporary context. The Response to the issue by Jon Marc Taylor, who earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees while
behind bars through correspondence courses, encourages prisoners and fellow travellers to continue to "fight the good fight" through prison writing.
The Prisoners' Struggles and Book Reviews sections include resources for prisoners, along with contributions from individuals and groups
working towards expanding knowledge inside including Seth Ferranti, Eugene Dey, books2prisoners Ottawa and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Education.
Table of Contents for 17:1
|
|
Volume 17, Number 2 of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons is a special collection based on the theme “Abolition and the Universal Carceral”.
Edited by Mike Larsen (York University), many of the included articles were presented in London, England in late July 2008 at the Colloquium on the Universal Carceral
– part of the 12th International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA XII). The Colloquium focused on the “proliferation of new forms of carceral control” (Gaucher, 2007)
and on those aspects of the carceral experience that seem to remain constant across geography and time. Unified by a “politics of hope [and a] rejection of the position
that imprisonment need be viewed as a normal and inevitable part of our future” (Larsen, 2008), the articles included in JPP 17(2) cover a variety of topics and
represent a range of voices, from around the world. Major themes include critical reflections on health and mental heath ‘services’ in prisons, immigration and security
certificate detention, and political imprisonment. The issue concludes with a Response piece on “The Abolitionist Stance” by Thomas Mathiesen, which offers both a call
to action and a theoretical grounding for a renewed spirit of penal abolitionism.
Table of Contents for 17:2
|
|
|
|
|
|