Without words to get in the way: Symbolic interaction in prison-based animal programs

Gennifer Furst

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.3.1.07

Authors

Gennifer Furst William Patterson University, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.3.1.07

Keywords:

Symbolic interaction, Animals in prison, Human-animal interaction

Abstract

George H. Mead ([1934] 1967) contended a person’s sense of self develops from language-based interactions with other humans in society. According to contemporary sociologists, a person’s sense of self is also influenced by non-verbal interactions with human and non-human animals. The present research extends Sanders (1993) work that examined how dog owners relate to their pets and come to develop a unique social identity for them. Through interviews with participants in prison-based animal programs (PAPs), this research explores whether inmates engaged in a similar process of assigning the animals with which they work a human-like identity. The implications of the relationships that develop in terms of desistance, which Maruna (2001) argued requires a redefinition of a person’s self-identity, are discussed.

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Author Biography

Gennifer Furst, William Patterson University, USA

Gennifer Furst (PhD) received her doctorate in criminal justice from CUNY Graduate Center (NYC) and is an assistant professor in the sociology department of William Paterson University (NJ). She conducted the first national survey of prison-based animal programs. In addition to issues of punishment and corrections, her research interests include capital punishment, drugs and crime, and race and the administration of justice.

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