Punishment

"Punishment: Social Control and Coercion" is a collection of essays which address the history, present meaning, and prospective implications of legal punishment at the millennium. The authors draw on expertise in various fields including philosophy, psychology, semiotics, sociology, criminology, feminist theory, and law. The essays range in focus from discussion of justificatory theories to normative analyses of specific problems in penal practice to postmodern critiques of both theory and practice. The insights provided and questions raised in these timely essays are of particular interest in light of current debates about increasing reliance on penal responses to social concerns.