
Contents
Ideal Theory and Historical Complexity
Get access-
Published:June 2018
Cite
Abstract
After summarizing Fassin’s arguments, McLennan urges attention to five related questions. The first addresses the intersection between philosophy and the social sciences, specifically how, if at all, utilitarian, Kantian, and other ideal theories of punishment might usefully inform the study of past and present penal practices. Second, McLennan asks what in American history explains the particular brutality of state punishment in the U.S.—what she calls “delegated sadism”—notwithstanding many common features between French and American penal institutions. Building on this theme, she invites Fassin to reflect more on the nonlinearity of the history of penal policy in the U.S. and the ways in which penal welfarism and the slave plantation provided competing models for punishment in both North and South. Responding to Fassin’s call for the study of “penal theology,” McLennan suggests that nineteenth- and twentieth-century Christian theologies have not only fostered certain penal practices but generated radical critiques of incarceration and its effects. Finally, turning to mass incarceration’s more recent history, McLennan calls our attention to the gendered character of penal policy, especially in light of the fact that incarceration rates for women have risen much faster than for men.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 3 |
November 2022 | 2 |
January 2023 | 10 |
February 2023 | 3 |
March 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 1 |
July 2023 | 2 |
August 2023 | 3 |
September 2023 | 3 |
October 2023 | 16 |
November 2023 | 2 |
December 2023 | 5 |
March 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 3 |
June 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
September 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 6 |
November 2024 | 4 |
December 2024 | 2 |
January 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 7 |
March 2025 | 4 |
April 2025 | 4 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.