Getting at the Experience of Confinement in Detention
(2023)- Abstract
- A distinguishing feature of youth detention homes—and any other prisonlike institution—is the fact that inmates cannot just leave. They might escape, and there are ways to be transferred, enjoy an excursion, and get permission for home visits, but typically the young people in this case are supposed to remain within their given institution. I have been eager to not only depict this feature of field sites but also acutely aware of the difficulties of doing so since few of my own living condition resemble those of the young people. I have always, of course, personally been able to just leave. In this chapter, I identify a couple of ways in which I still have tried to come close to the experience of confinement, including (a) getting bored,... (More)
- A distinguishing feature of youth detention homes—and any other prisonlike institution—is the fact that inmates cannot just leave. They might escape, and there are ways to be transferred, enjoy an excursion, and get permission for home visits, but typically the young people in this case are supposed to remain within their given institution. I have been eager to not only depict this feature of field sites but also acutely aware of the difficulties of doing so since few of my own living condition resemble those of the young people. I have always, of course, personally been able to just leave. In this chapter, I identify a couple of ways in which I still have tried to come close to the experience of confinement, including (a) getting bored, (b) tasting “light paranoia,” and (c) fiddling with my “identity kit” inside detention homes. By this I mean experiences of having nothing to do and longing to get out, experiences of imagined being controlled, watched, and filmed by the staff, and efforts to uphold integrity by the symbolic use of private belongings. I argue that these and similar ways—together with an equivalent interest when interacting with inmates—can help ethnographers to reach some insight into being caged within institutions, while still enjoying the privilege of freedom. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- A distinguishing feature of youth detention homes—and any other prisonlike institution—is the fact that inmates cannot just leave. They might escape, and there are ways to be transferred, enjoy an excursion, and get permission for home visits, but typically the young people in this case are supposed to remain within their given institution. I have been eager to not only depict this feature of field sites but also acutely aware of the difficulties of doing so since few of my own living condition resemble those of the young people. I have always, of course, personally been able to just leave. In this chapter, I identify a couple of ways in which I still have tried to come close to the experience of confinement, including (a) getting bored,... (More)
- A distinguishing feature of youth detention homes—and any other prisonlike institution—is the fact that inmates cannot just leave. They might escape, and there are ways to be transferred, enjoy an excursion, and get permission for home visits, but typically the young people in this case are supposed to remain within their given institution. I have been eager to not only depict this feature of field sites but also acutely aware of the difficulties of doing so since few of my own living condition resemble those of the young people. I have always, of course, personally been able to just leave. In this chapter, I identify a couple of ways in which I still have tried to come close to the experience of confinement, including (a) getting bored, (b) tasting “light paranoia,” and (c) fiddling with my “identity kit” inside detention homes. By this I mean experiences of having nothing to do and longing to get out, experiences of imagined being controlled, watched, and filmed by the staff, and efforts to uphold integrity by the symbolic use of private belongings. I argue that these and similar ways—together with an equivalent interest when interacting with inmates—can help ethnographers to reach some insight into being caged within institutions, while still enjoying the privilege of freedom. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f6c6576a-8941-4c07-92bf-437cd281265b
- author
- Wästerfors, David LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Crafting Ethnographic Fieldwork : Sites, Selves and Social Worlds - Sites, Selves and Social Worlds
- editor
- Marvasti, Amir B. and Gubrium, Jaber F.
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85156203426
- ISBN
- 9781032230009
- 9781032217802
- 9781003275121
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003275121-4
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f6c6576a-8941-4c07-92bf-437cd281265b
- date added to LUP
- 2023-02-18 16:55:34
- date last changed
- 2024-04-19 20:16:43
@inbook{f6c6576a-8941-4c07-92bf-437cd281265b,
abstract = {{A distinguishing feature of youth detention homes—and any other prisonlike institution—is the fact that inmates cannot just leave. They might escape, and there are ways to be transferred, enjoy an excursion, and get permission for home visits, but typically the young people in this case are supposed to remain within their given institution. I have been eager to not only depict this feature of field sites but also acutely aware of the difficulties of doing so since few of my own living condition resemble those of the young people. I have always, of course, personally been able to just leave. In this chapter, I identify a couple of ways in which I still have tried to come close to the experience of confinement, including (a) getting bored, (b) tasting “light paranoia,” and (c) fiddling with my “identity kit” inside detention homes. By this I mean experiences of having nothing to do and longing to get out, experiences of imagined being controlled, watched, and filmed by the staff, and efforts to uphold integrity by the symbolic use of private belongings. I argue that these and similar ways—together with an equivalent interest when interacting with inmates—can help ethnographers to reach some insight into being caged within institutions, while still enjoying the privilege of freedom.}},
author = {{Wästerfors, David}},
booktitle = {{Crafting Ethnographic Fieldwork : Sites, Selves and Social Worlds}},
editor = {{Marvasti, Amir B. and Gubrium, Jaber F.}},
isbn = {{9781032230009}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
title = {{Getting at the Experience of Confinement in Detention}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003275121-4}},
doi = {{10.4324/9781003275121-4}},
year = {{2023}},
}