Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field
This article examines the role of law and its social uses within the carceral field. Prisons are institutional settings saturated with official legal norms, yet their operative application is deeply shaped by the prison’s distinct social, symbolic and moral order. Introducing the contributions colle...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Oñati Socio-Legal Series |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/2363 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849411533646331904 |
|---|---|
| author | Luca Sterchele Francesca Vianello |
| author_facet | Luca Sterchele Francesca Vianello |
| author_sort | Luca Sterchele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the role of law and its social uses within the carceral field. Prisons are institutional settings saturated with official legal norms, yet their operative application is deeply shaped by the prison’s distinct social, symbolic and moral order. Introducing the contributions collected in this Special Issue, the article explores how law is practically mobilized, reinterpreted, or rendered ineffective in everyday prison life. It calls for an empirically grounded sociology of law that shifts attention from abstract legal frameworks to the situated practices through which legal norms are invoked, contested, or bypassed. Legal resources are thus conceptualized as part of a broader repertoire of normative tools deployed to exercise institutional control or articulate practices of resistance. By adopting a socio-legal perspective, the article aims to reframe the relationship between formal legal structures and the lived normative orders that emerge within carceral institutions. It contributes to bridging Prison Studies and the Sociology of Law by addressing fundamental questions about the role of law in highly regulated yet socially complex environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-37eb59a9114647cd99ab117ebc7b26e7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-5971 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oñati Socio-Legal Series |
| spelling | doaj-art-37eb59a9114647cd99ab117ebc7b26e72025-08-20T03:34:45ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712025-07-011541147116110.35295/osls.iisl.23633164Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal fieldLuca Sterchele0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1160-4347Francesca Vianello1Università degli Studi di PadovaUniversità di PadovaThis article examines the role of law and its social uses within the carceral field. Prisons are institutional settings saturated with official legal norms, yet their operative application is deeply shaped by the prison’s distinct social, symbolic and moral order. Introducing the contributions collected in this Special Issue, the article explores how law is practically mobilized, reinterpreted, or rendered ineffective in everyday prison life. It calls for an empirically grounded sociology of law that shifts attention from abstract legal frameworks to the situated practices through which legal norms are invoked, contested, or bypassed. Legal resources are thus conceptualized as part of a broader repertoire of normative tools deployed to exercise institutional control or articulate practices of resistance. By adopting a socio-legal perspective, the article aims to reframe the relationship between formal legal structures and the lived normative orders that emerge within carceral institutions. It contributes to bridging Prison Studies and the Sociology of Law by addressing fundamental questions about the role of law in highly regulated yet socially complex environments.https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/2363prisonlawculturesethnographyempirical research |
| spellingShingle | Luca Sterchele Francesca Vianello Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field Oñati Socio-Legal Series prison law cultures ethnography empirical research |
| title | Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field |
| title_full | Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field |
| title_fullStr | Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field |
| title_short | Introduction: Sociology of law and prison studies: The social uses of law within the prison’s legal field |
| title_sort | introduction sociology of law and prison studies the social uses of law within the prison s legal field |
| topic | prison law cultures ethnography empirical research |
| url | https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/2363 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lucasterchele introductionsociologyoflawandprisonstudiesthesocialusesoflawwithintheprisonslegalfield AT francescavianello introductionsociologyoflawandprisonstudiesthesocialusesoflawwithintheprisonslegalfield |