THE JOINT CENTER FOR HISTORY AND ECONOMICS

ROUTINES OF PUNISHMENT

A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF EVERYDAY SANCTIONS

(19th-20th CENTURY)

Sent to solitary confinement, grounded, fined, given only bread and water... Many were the punitive measures that punctuated life in the military barracks, in prison, at the factory, in retirement homes, at school, in psychiatric hospitals, or in convents during the 19th and 20th centuries. Who got punished, for what reasons, and how? From the classification of offenses to the repertoire of punishment, from the practices of those who punish to the experiences of the punished, from scandals to taboos, this book delves into the routinization of sanctions. It compares their impact on administrative daily life and their imprint on individual trajectories. In doing so, it paves the way for a shared history of military, educational, religious, therapeutic, coercive, and assistance institutions.

Elsa Génard is a historian of modern France whose work focuses on the history of punishment. She is currently a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at Harvard University.

(c) 2023 Center for History and Economics