1872 London Congress and the Nineteenth Century Prison Reform Movement: An Inquiry into the Discourse of Punishment

• Published in: Gaziantep Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi
• Main Author: Sinan Tankut GÜLHAN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gaziantep University 2017-10-01
• Subjects: Sociology of crime and punishment; nineteenth century social reform movement; 1872 London Prison Congress; history of punishment
• Online Access: http://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/359758
• ISSN: 1303-0094; 2149-5459

This paper is an attempt in understanding the first penal conference in world history. The meeting took place in 1872 in England, the Congress of London was a groundbreaking meeting of professionals, state officials, reformers of the penitentiary system, and interested philanthropists. The Congress was the culmination of a century’s efforts instigated by John Howard in the late eighteenth century. The meeting would prove to be the first of a long series of professionalized conferences on the practices of punishment. There were attempts in gathering the professionals of the penal system before, that is for sure, however, in convening and legitimizing both the state authority and the philanthropy of the upper classes it was an insightful examination and a critique of the state penitentiary system hitherto existed.