Course Catalogue

Prisons and beyond: The sociology of 'total' institutions SOCIO4128

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course takes as its starting point one seminal Sociological essay, Erving Goffman's 'On the characteristics of total institutions', contained in his book Asylums. After examining this essay in depth, we will consider contemporary and later criticisms of this text. The course will then examine several examples of current (more or less) total institutions and to what extent they have changed over time. We will start with prisons, moving on to (psychiatric) hospitals and nursing homes, before leaving the last choices up to the students. While Goffman focused on identity in total institutions, the course will go beyond this. Each week will encourage students to think critically about the 'totality' of total institutions, the societal function of these institutions and how they shape social life and identity within them and after 'release'. It also pays attention to the power(ful) in these institutions and the different impacts of bureaucracy in such settings. At the end of the course, we will examine the future of total institutions and their alternatives in different contexts. Students will be encouraged to take an increasingly active part in the course.

Timetable

None

Requirements of Entry

In order to take this course, students need to have met the requirements for entry into the Sociology Honours Programme. This means achieving a grade of 'D' or better in Sociology 1A and 1B and a 'C' or better in Sociology 2A and 2B. Students also have to comply with the College of Social Science regulations for progression to Honours.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Annotated bibliography on 'total' institutions, with 10 sources (word limit 1,500 words). (30%)

 

3,000 word essay on one of the essay questions (70%)

Course Aims

The aim of this course is to give students the opportunity and skills to examine the legacy and impact of one piece of sociology and to apply their developing sociological knowledge to the concept of total institutions (Goffman). This will enable them to

■ Gain a deep understanding of Goffman's concept of total institutions

■ Develop a critical understanding how the state and other actors control individuals within and beyond institutions.

■ Understand 'Asylums' as a product of its time (early 1960s) and place (the US) and the implications of this for its relevance elsewhere and today.

■ Develop an understanding of the function and effects of different total institutions

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course, student will be able to:

■ Assess criticisms of the concept of 'total institutions' as well as counter-criticisms

■ Critically evaluate the impact of 'Asylums' on practice (e.g. de-institutionalisation) and sociology as a discipline

■ Interpret the function and effects of the prison, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals from a sociological point of view 

■ Apply the concept of total institutions to examples of such institutions of their own choice and compare different institutions' functions, effects and power dynamics

■ Evaluate the relevance of the concept of 'total institutions' today in Western and non-Western societies.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions