'From here to paternity? Ideas about fatherhood in prison' (Rod Earle)

ABSTRACT

From here to paternity? Ideas about fatherhood in prison

Rod Earle

Drawing from an ethnographic study of men’s identities and social relations in prison this paper will explore the ways in which ideas about fatherhood are deployed and experienced. Based on interviews and observational data in a Young Offender Institution (YOI) for 18-21 year old young men, the paper considers their participation in, and orientations toward, a ‘Young Fathers’ course delivered by prison staff. The paper intends to explore how aspects of paternalism, patriarchy, social care, rehabilitation and masculine authority take shape in the austere penal environment.