Sexuality/ies and penal institutions
The arrival of gender studies in France contributed to a real growth in the research on sexuality. Although sexuality studies in penal institutions are still relatively rare, the 2014 conference “Sexuality/ies & Imprisonment” (Sexualité(s) et Enfermement) in Lille demonstrated the emergence of a dynamic field, which can be enriched by international cooperation and comparative studies.
Besides describing the organization of sexuality and of sexual practices in penal institutions, an important question is to what extent such practices may be compared to sexual practices in society at large. Are there specific sexual subcultures characterizing these institutions ? How are forms of sexual negotiation and transaction connected to economies of power that are subsidiary in these institutions ? What is the role of the spatial organization in such practices ? What kind of sexual imaginaries are produced within these institutions ? Answering such questions will necessitate confronting problems typically encountered in ethnographic work on both penal institutions and sexuality/ies.
The Goffmanian concept of “total institution” strongly influenced the ways in which questions concerning sexual practices and representations in penal institutions have been mostly answered thus far. The de-totalization process of some institutions and the emergence of studies problematizing the rigidity of the inside/outside dichotomy complicate these issues. Moreover, single-sex institutions are more and more questioned.
We welcome proposals from sociology, anthropology, socio-legal studies, history, geography, gender studies, queer studies, women studies, sexuality studies, prison studies and remain open to other research fields. PhD candidates and young scholars are strongly encouraged to submit a contribution.
Proposals may focus on the following topics (but are not limited to) :
1. Policies and the organization of sexuality : How have penal institutions regulated sexuality beyond legal assignments ? How did discourses on co-education and processes of cellularization structured sexual practices in penal institutions ?
2. Inside/outside borders and borderwork : Is it possible to speak of adaptation or substitution of sexual practices ? How can the effects of what is defined as "sexual liberation" be measured ? What does it mean to promote the recognition of “rights to sexual practices” in penal institutions ?
3. Practices, representations and discourses : How is sexuality narrated in the first person perspective in imprisonment stories ? Do representations on sexuality project a sexual heterotopia in cultural productions ?
4. Methodological issues : How is it possible to investigate sexuality in penal institutions ? What type of constraints does the researcher experience when confronted to such a field ?
***
Bilingualism
Proposed contributions can be submitted in English or in French. We are striving towards a bilingual issue : authors whose work will be accepted for publication are encouraged, but not obligated, to translate their papers.
Submission guidelines
Word count for papers is between 8,000 and 15,000 words. Articles must also conform to the submission guidelines of the journal, which can be found here http://champpenal.revues.org/7625
Article submission
An abstract outlining your proposed contribution must be submitted not later than June 1, 2015. Submission deadline for completed papers is November 1, 2015. In both cases, please send your correspondence to following addresses :
Flux RSS