Haunting Prison: Exploring the Prison as an Abject and Uncanny Institution

Haunting Prison explores how prison is narrativized and socially represented as an abject and uncanny institution, shedding new light on what prison is and does in Western carceral imaginations. It also explores how true crimes claims to factuality coexist with the genres inescapable horror iconography, and how prison functions as a storied institution, both as a physical site of subterranean horrors and in terms of the many-layered stories told about it.

Format: Hardback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 27 April 2023
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

Through a comprehensive examination of ten commercially published prison autobiographies, Haunting Prison: Exploring the Prison as an Abject and Uncanny Institution delves into the intricate ways in which prison is narrativized and socially constructed as an abject and uncanny institution. This groundbreaking study sheds new light on the multifaceted nature of prison and its profound impact on Western carceral imaginations.

In her insightful analysis, Tea Fredriksson delves into the complex dynamics between fact and fiction in prison autobiographies. She uncovers the intricate layers of editing that position these narratives between reality and storytelling, revealing how true crime claims to factual authenticity coexist with the inherent horror iconography of the genre. By conducting a thematic analysis of how autobiographical prison stories bring prison to life on the page as a site of abject horror and eerie unsettlement, Haunting Prison: Exploring the Prison as an Abject and Uncanny Institution explores the multifaceted functions of prison as both a physical location of subterranean terrors and as a storied institution filled with numerous narratives about prison and the bodies that inhabit it.

Fredriksson highlights how prison serves as a powerful expression and distillation of the normative social anxieties of the global North-West. She explores how the prison is simultaneously an abject other to the outside world and a haunting, uncanny double of it. Through the examination of common narrational themes such as othering processes and unsettling likenesses, Fredriksson reveals how prison functions as a site that both reflects and distorts societal norms and expectations.

Haunting Prison: Exploring the Prison as an Abject and Uncanny Institution offers a refreshing perspective on the study of true crime data. It appeals to scholars interested in qualitative research methods for examining crime, punishment, and victimhood in popular culture. By delving into the complexities of prison narratives and their societal implications, this book provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between power, justice, and the human experience.

Weight: 382g
Dimension: 158 x 239 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781804553695