Brockway writes about the American Reformatory and the overall mission of it, which is to protect society rather than punish, while Lomobroso depicts the characteristics of a human criminal. Although both articles were written at the turn of the century, do you believe that the ideologies of both fields of study impacted one another from a "practice" perspective or impacted (at that time) the continued adjustment of criminal justice/social response to justice? On page 191, Lomobroso talks about a criminal being "an atavistic being, a relic of a vanished race." If these types of ideologies where present at the time of the establishment of the "prison/reformatory system" what implication do you think were considered when building such institutions. Are the potential implications that are "hypothetically still present in modern day prison system.
Somewhere in the world class structure rules all. Meaning that those at the top, rule and control the masses in the middle and profit of those on the bottom. With that said what is the overall take away from Sellin and Ruche/Kirchheimer's readings. Though they are different, that speak towards the same end.
(While creating your responses to these questions consider who these bedrock concepts, movements, establishments etc have resulted in our society's current justice system.. Ask yourself daily - How did we get to this current system. You are only required to answer one of the questions above. If you answer two it will only benefit your overall understanding of the course material... )
Taking your reading another step further... In your summary notes (assuming you do that). From week to week try to link the readings together. How does one impact another? Are the concepts and ideologies similar? Are they building on to each other? Do they counter each other. Having this outlook from reading to reading will really make sense of this overall course. At time we are students read and dont think on the macro scale and miss the easy micro concepts that make life so much easier.
Brockway’s ideology on the goal of incarceration is clearly communicated by the word ‘reformatory’ that precedes ‘prison system’ in the chapter’s title. Frankly, Brockway’s views appear surprisingly progressive, focusing not on the punitive and fear-driven approach to prison, but on the “dignified serenity, neither vindictive nor lovelorn, but firmly and nobly corrective” (Brockway, 1910, p. 578).
