Punishment In World History (Themes In World History)

Description:

The chronological approach allows students to explore punishment with regards to change and continuity on a comparative basis.

The book reflects on key works, such as by Michel Foucault, enabling students to gain an understanding of the important debates over punishment in the modern world.

Discussing punishment in relation to key themes such as gender, race, and class across the world encourages students to view punishment not as a progressive journey to the twenty-first century, but one that changes and adapts in different geographical and periodical circumstances.

Contents:

1. Introduction Part 1: Early Human Societies 2. Punishment in Hunting and Gathering Societies 3. Early Civilizations and a Transformation of Punishment Part 2: The Classical and Postclassical Periods 4. The Classical Societies 5. The Postclassical Period and the Role of Religion Part 3: The Early Modern Period, 1450-1800 6. The Empires of Asia and Eastern Europe 7. New Prisons and New Ideas in Western Europe 8. Punishment in the New European Colonies Part 4: The Nineteenth Century 9. An Age of Reform and Its Limitations: Western Europe and Beyond 10. Reform Efforts in Asia, Russia, and Latin America 11. Punishment in the New Empires: From the 19th Century to the Mid-1950s Part 5: The Contemporary Period 12. Major Changes 13. Regional Patterns in the Contemporary Period 14. Conclusion

Author Biography:

Peter N. Stearns is University Professor of History at George Mason University. He has written widely in the fields of world history and the history of emotion, with recent books on Human Rights in World History (rev. ed.) and Happiness in World History.