Join Dartmouth Libraries to hear from Matthew Ritger, Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Creative Writing, to hear about his first book, Houses of Correction: Carceral Institutions and Humanist Culture in Early Modern England.

From the University of Pennsylvania Press:

"More than 250 years before the rise of the modern penitentiary, houses of correction pioneered the use of forced labor and individualized sentences within institutions of confinement, promoting reform and the “hope of amendment” for every individual. Yet these earlier carceral institutions faced many of the problems that remain familiar today: corruption scandals, recidivism, and abuses of power.

Houses of Correction returns to the archives of England’s first house of correction, Bridewell, to show how humanist reformers provided ideas, justifications, and administration for what came to be called bridewells, workhouses, and “Literary worke-houses,” even as repeated scandals made it clear that these coercive institutions would forever be at odds with the ideals of humanist culture. Examining how the work of writers including More, Shakespeare, and Milton dealt with humanism’s entanglements with these new prisons, Houses of Correction constructs the first book-length literary history of some of early modern Europe’s most influential carceral institutions.The first book-length literary history of some of the era's most influential carceral institutions, Houses of Correction explores the archives of Bridewell--England's first house of correction--to demonstrate the ways that humanist thought was used to justify the carceral system."

Talk followed by Q&A. Light refreshments will be served. Registration recommended.