On the Origins of Limited Term Sentences of Incarceration
Matthew Larsen (University of Copenhagen)
Oplysninger om arrangementet
Tidspunkt
Sted
Antikmuseet
Arrangør
Klassiske Studier og forskningsprogrammet "Classical Antiquity and its Heritage" and "Centre for the Study of Antiquity and Christianity (C-SAC)"
The prison is imagined as a modern invention, with the core of the modern prison being a limited term sentence of incarceration (e.g. a five year prison sentence). Yet even this aspect of the history of incarceration has a much longer history. In this talk, I trace the origins of the limited term sentence back to Mediterranean antiquity, with special reference to the emerging history of Christianity, to show that the practice of sentencing a convict to a specific amount of time in prison was not uncommon and was tied to emerging Christian discourse on punishment.
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