Corrections A Critical Approach by Michael Welch

Corrections: A Critical Approach (third edition) confronts mass imprisonment in the United States, a nation boasting the highest incarceration rate in the world. This statistic is all the more troubling considering that its correctional population is overrepresented by the poor, African-Americans, and Latinos.

Not only throwing crucial light on matters involving race and class, this book also identifies and examines the key social forces shaping penal practice in the US âe" politics, economics, morality, and technology. By attending closely to historical and theoretical development, the narrative takes into account both instrumental (goal-oriented) as well as expressive (cultural) explanations to sharpen our understanding of punishment and the growing reliance on incarceration.

Covering five main areas of inquiry âe" penal context, penal populations, penal violence, penal process, and penal state âe" this book is essential reading for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in undertaking a critical analysis of penology.