Understandings of habitual criminality in England from 1770 to 1870
This thesis explores the nature and role of a discourse of recidivism in England from 1770 to 1870. Using evidence from a wide range of printed, governmental, and manuscript sources, it posits that the existing scholarly focus on mid-nineteenth century legislation and sensationalist print culture provides an incomplete picture of the content, function, and dissemination of this discourse. It challenges the notion that attitudes towards recidivism were homogenous, sensationalist, and almost exclusively related to penal developments in the mid-nineteenth century. It posits instead that recidivism was understood and discussed in a variety of ways from the late eighteenth century onwards. Moreover, it emphasises variety and continuity in attitudes towards criminality which directly impacted upon discourses of recidivism. This variety was central to another key finding of this thesis that discourses of recidivism functioned as vehicles for a number of social and penal arguments. Thus attitudes towards recidivism expressed in this range of sources both replicated and were influenced by the purpose of documents or the experiences of the authors. The first two chapters of this thesis explore attitudes towards recidivism
Churcher, Helen
Understandings of habitual criminality in England from 1770 to 1870. This thesis explores the nature and role of a discourse of recidivism in England from 1770 to 1870. Using evidence from a wide range of printed, governmental, and manuscript sources, it posits that the existing scholarly focus on mid-nineteenth century legislation and sensationalist print culture provides an incomplete picture of the content, function, and dissemination of this discourse. It challenges the notion that attitudes towards recidivism were homogenous, sensationalist, and almost exclusively related to penal developments in the mid-nineteenth century. It posits instead that recidivism was understood and discussed in a variety of ways from the late eighteenth century onwards. Moreover, it emphasises variety and continuity in attitudes towards criminality which directly impacted upon discourses of recidivism. This variety was central to another key finding of this thesis that discourses of recidivism functioned as vehicles for a number of social and penal arguments. Thus attitudes towards recidivism expressed in this range of sources both replicated and were influenced by the purpose of documents or the experiences of the authors. The first two chapters of this thesis explore attitudes towards recidivism
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