Resistance or Friction: Understanding the Significance of Prisoners’ Secondary Adjustments

Theoretical Criminology, Vol. 19: 1 (2015), pp. 23-42

18 Pages Posted: 21 May 2015

See all articles by Ashley T. Rubin

Ashley T. Rubin

University of Toronto at Mississauga

Date Written: February 1, 2015

Abstract

Scholars examining prisoners’ "secondary adjustments" have often emphasized prisoners’ "resistance" to the prison regime, particularly their agentic acts that frustrate the prison’s rules, goals, or functions. While these agency-centered accounts offer an important corrective to the understanding of prisons as totalizing institutions, they may go too far. I argue that scholars have overused (and misused) the term "resistance" to describe certain prisoner behaviors, creating both analytical and normative consequences. Instead, I suggest the concept of "friction" more accurately describes the reactive behaviors that occur when people find themselves in highly controlled environments.

Keywords: Prisoners, Resistance, Prison History, Prison Sociology, Secondary Adjustments

JEL Classification: K14, K42

Suggested Citation

Rubin, Ashley T., Resistance or Friction: Understanding the Significance of Prisoners’ Secondary Adjustments (February 1, 2015). Theoretical Criminology, Vol. 19: 1 (2015), pp. 23-42, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2608134

Ashley T. Rubin (Contact Author)

University of Toronto at Mississauga ( email )

3359 Mississauga Rd N.
3205 William Davis Building
Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6
Canada

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