The Archaeology of Institutional Confinement
Eleanor Conlin Casella
University Press of Florida (192 pages; Paper: $24.95 ISBN 13: 978-0-8130-3139-2
Pubdate: 9/23/2007
Series: The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective
"The first, long overdue, critical historical perspective on institutional practice in contemporary
America, and more broadly, the social philosophy of citizenship."--Lu Ann De Cunzo, University of
Delaware
"A work that will aid tremendously in both the exploration of changes in institutionalization as
well as the archaeological study of institutions."--David R. Bush, Heidelberg College
The study of American institutional confinement, its presumed successes, failures, and
controversies, is incomplete without examining the remnants of relevant sites no longer standing.
Asking what archaeological perspectives add to the understanding of such a provocative topic,
Eleanor Conlin Casella describes multiple sites and identifies three distinct categories of
confinement: places for punishment, for asylum, and for exile. Her discussion encompasses the
multifunctional shelters of the colonial era, Civil War prison camps, Japanese-American relocation
centers, and the maximum-security detention facilities of the twenty-first century. Her analysis of
the material world of confinement takes into account architecture and landscape, food, medicinal
resources, clothing, recreation, human remains, and personal goods.
Casella exposes the diversity of power relations that structure many of America's confinement
institutions. Weaving together themes of punishment, involuntary labor, personal dignity, and
social identity, The Archaeology of Institutional Confinement tells a profound story of endurance
in one slice of society. It will illuminate and change contemporary notions of gender, race, class,
infirmity, deviance, and antisocial behavior.
Eleanor Conlin Casella is senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Manchester.
Full details: http://www.upf.com/book.asp?id=CASELF06
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