BUCH
“Through the Bars of My Memory”
Prison Life Writing and the Prison Movement of the 1970s and 1980s
American Studies – A Monograph Series, Bd. 319
2022
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Abstract
“Through the Bars of My Memory” investigates how prison experiences are remembered and constructed in 40 autobiographical prison texts published during the prison movement of the 1970s and 1980s. It explores how the autobiographers narratively construct their identities in the process of remembering their prison experiences and how the texts position themselves to the prison movement via these identity constructions. The study demonstrates how the autobiographical texts negotiate the protagonist’s identity to be perceived as a legitimate voice in the prison movement and as a rightful Subject of reform efforts thereby participating in the struggles raging over the future of the prison system during that time. The analysis focuses on the construction of collective identification, the negotiation of the label of perpetrator and the construction of victimhood, and the positioning towards rehabilitation through the construction of identity transformation processes.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
| Zwischenüberschrift | Seite | Aktion | Preis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | 1 | ||
| Titel | 4 | ||
| Impressum | 5 | ||
| Table of Contents | 10 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 12 | ||
| 1.1 Topic and Research Question | 12 | ||
| 1.2 Sample | 17 | ||
| 1.3 Theoretical Framework and Methodology | 25 | ||
| 1.4 State of Research | 28 | ||
| 1.5 Project Structure | 36 | ||
| 2 Collectivizing the Prison Experience | 38 | ||
| 2.1 Collective Identity | 39 | ||
| 2.1.1 Collective Identity – Theoretical Introduction | 39 | ||
| 2.1.2 Collective Identity in Autobiographies | 44 | ||
| 2.2 Positioning towards the Imagined Collective of Prisoners | 46 | ||
| 2.2.1 General Patterns of Inscription into and Distancing from the Collectiveof Prisoners | 47 | ||
| 2.2.2 Cohesion or Alienation – Responses to the Prison Context | 59 | ||
| 2.3 Multicollectivity – Moving Beyond the Collective of Prisoners | 77 | ||
| 2.4 Not an Exception but the Rule – Function of Collectivization | 89 | ||
| 2.5 Conclusion | 95 | ||
| 3 Doubled Identity as Victim and Perpetrator | 98 | ||
| 3.1 Negotiating the Label of ‘Perpetrator’ | 102 | ||
| 3.1.1 Justifying Past Criminal Behavior | 104 | ||
| 3.1.2 Claiming Innocence | 132 | ||
| 3.2 Negotiating Victimhood | 142 | ||
| 3.2.1 The Prisoner as Victim of Wrongdoing | 144 | ||
| 3.2.2 Reclaiming Personhood | 162 | ||
| 3.3 Conclusion | 169 | ||
| 4 Rehabilitation and Identity Transformation | 174 | ||
| 4.1 The Development of the Rehabilitative Ideal | 175 | ||
| 4.2 Negotiating Rehabilitation through the Conversion Narrative | 181 | ||
| 4.2.1 Conversion Narrative – Defining the Phenomenon | 183 | ||
| 4.2.2 Religious Conversion Narratives | 187 | ||
| 4.2.3 Secular Conversion Narratives | 207 | ||
| 4.2.4 Narratives without Conversion – Recidivism, Suspended Identityand Innocence | 227 | ||
| 4.3 Conclusion | 254 | ||
| 5 Perpetuating the Carceral System? –Concluding Remarks on AutobiographicalPrison Texts | 256 | ||
| 6 Appendix | 266 | ||
| 6.1 List of Core Autobiographical Prison Texts of the 1970s and1980s | 266 | ||
| 6.2 List of Related Prison Life Writings of the 1970s and 1980s | 268 | ||
| 7 Works Cited | 270 |
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