The Eye of York:
Crime & Punishment in York
At the Eye of York, and the site of the York Castle Museum we explore the historical and sociological significance of gendered punishment. Are female criminals treated more ‘chivalrously’ than their male counterparts, or are they treated more harshly because they have been ‘doubly-deviant’ against their gender and societal norms of criminality? We will also explore the change in nature of punishment inflicted against the body to the mind. Historically, why were executions and corporal punishments so public, why did their public nature cease, and what replaced these punishments and why? We then explore the historical and continued punishment of the impoverished and homeless.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more!
Rachael Burns is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Sociology. Her interests include Elias’ The Civilising Process (2000), the history of crime and punishment, the architecture and topography of penal institutions, genocide and the Holocaust.
