Learning to labor in prison
Taking the case of prison healthcare reform in Italy as an empirical basis, the article explores the ways in which legal intervention is materialized in the social relations, cultural horizons and operational practices of prison healthcare workers, focusing on the concept of (embedded) “legal cultur...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| 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/2051 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849253998744305664 |
|---|---|
| author | Luca Sterchele |
| author_facet | Luca Sterchele |
| author_sort | Luca Sterchele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Taking the case of prison healthcare reform in Italy as an empirical basis, the article explores the ways in which legal intervention is materialized in the social relations, cultural horizons and operational practices of prison healthcare workers, focusing on the concept of (embedded) “legal culture”. Drawing on the findings of ethnographic research conducted over the last nine years, the article explores the relationship between clinical and legal languages in everyday prison life: observations are made about the processes through which clinical assessments can be “translated” and “reinterpreted” into the language of legal codes specific to the prison setting. The results suggest the possibility of partially questioning readings that identify the processes of prisonization of healthcare operators as the sole cause of the reproduction of governmental elements in prison health practice. The legal cultures of prison staff and health professionals do not appear to be as different as at first sight. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7951ffcfdfa14b31b2e4f9a5e68739be |
| 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-7951ffcfdfa14b31b2e4f9a5e68739be2025-08-20T03:56:09ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712025-07-011541251127410.35295/osls.iisl.20512852Learning to labor in prisonLuca Sterchele0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1160-4347Università degli Studi di TorinoTaking the case of prison healthcare reform in Italy as an empirical basis, the article explores the ways in which legal intervention is materialized in the social relations, cultural horizons and operational practices of prison healthcare workers, focusing on the concept of (embedded) “legal culture”. Drawing on the findings of ethnographic research conducted over the last nine years, the article explores the relationship between clinical and legal languages in everyday prison life: observations are made about the processes through which clinical assessments can be “translated” and “reinterpreted” into the language of legal codes specific to the prison setting. The results suggest the possibility of partially questioning readings that identify the processes of prisonization of healthcare operators as the sole cause of the reproduction of governmental elements in prison health practice. The legal cultures of prison staff and health professionals do not appear to be as different as at first sight.https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/2051prison healthcarelanguagesethnographylaw and psychiatry |
| spellingShingle | Luca Sterchele Learning to labor in prison Oñati Socio-Legal Series prison healthcare languages ethnography law and psychiatry |
| title | Learning to labor in prison |
| title_full | Learning to labor in prison |
| title_fullStr | Learning to labor in prison |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learning to labor in prison |
| title_short | Learning to labor in prison |
| title_sort | learning to labor in prison |
| topic | prison healthcare languages ethnography law and psychiatry |
| url | https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/2051 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lucasterchele learningtolaborinprison |