I'm a medieval historian at St John's College, Oxford. I'm also Mummy to two wonderful little boys. I started this blog on my return to work after maternity leave, in order to remind myself of the importance of studying history. My aim is to use the challenges and dilemmas of the past to throw critical light on the present.
Thanks for your thought-provoking post. As a follow up thought: doesn't modern state violence now shift the focus away from vengeance by imposing legal universality (reducing the importance of the feelings of individual victims and communities) and using incarceration partly to rehabilitate and keep the public safe - explicitly focussing on future crime?
If people are released from prison when they are viewed as unlikely to reoffend then this makes the rationale about future crime rather than vengeance for previous crimes - state violence is about reducing overall crime in the future therefore, not seeking vengeance for crimes committed now. Does this now change the framework in a way medieval violence did not?
I also recognised this is a stylised and idealised presentation of the current legal system which in many cases may lack equality before the law, actively reduce the effectiveness of rehabilitation in prison etc. but even so, stated aims and ideals must impact upon societal frameworks.
Thanks for your thought-provoking post. As a follow up thought: doesn't modern state violence now shift the focus away from vengeance by imposing legal universality (reducing the importance of the feelings of individual victims and communities) and using incarceration partly to rehabilitate and keep the public safe - explicitly focussing on future crime?
ReplyDeleteIf people are released from prison when they are viewed as unlikely to reoffend then this makes the rationale about future crime rather than vengeance for previous crimes - state violence is about reducing overall crime in the future therefore, not seeking vengeance for crimes committed now. Does this now change the framework in a way medieval violence did not?
I also recognised this is a stylised and idealised presentation of the current legal system which in many cases may lack equality before the law, actively reduce the effectiveness of rehabilitation in prison etc. but even so, stated aims and ideals must impact upon societal frameworks.