Book Concepts & Terminology
Signifier & Signified
Prison History
Emotional management
Sociological Concepts
100

What does CYA stand for, a common phrase amongst officers?

Cover your a$$!

100

Keys

Power 

100

What is Sing Sing prison known for?

harsh conditions/executions

100

“What if I got assigned to R-and-W tomorrow? I thought. The feeling of dread was a dense cloud that blocked my view of everything around me. I slowed down, tried to repress it.” (p.246)

Emotional suppression

100

When Conover enters Sing Sing as a new CO, he must learn the behaviors and expectations of the job. What is the process of learning society's norms and values called?

Socialization

200

What does clear your galleries mean?

ordering or moving incarcerated individuals out of the open walkways and back into their cells

200

Baton

Compliance/authority 
200

What were the earliest ideas about punishment/incarceration to be?

 Capital punishment/public shaming

200

“In the locker room I searched around for my game face...I put the emotions away and punched in” (p.245)

Surface acting 

200

Conover must learn to see himself as a CO officer while adjusting to life inside Sing Sing. What sociological concept describes how people define themselves through their group memberships and social roles?

Social identity

300

Who are the keeplockers?

an inmate who is placed on disciplinary restriction and confined to their cell instead of being allowed out into the main prison population

300

“White shirts”

CO supervisors/administration = authority/respect

300

What were the goals of the Quakers?

Prevention of further harm to society, deterrence, and personal reformation 

300

“Leave it at the gate” you hear time again in corrections” (p.242)

Feeling rules

300

Conover's reference to correctional officers as “brothers in gray” reflects what concept?

In group

400

The "box" is also known as what?

The SHU/solitary confinement

400

The SHU

A place of punishment within a place of punishment 

400

What is the name of the first penitentiary in the US implemented in the nineteenth century?

Eastern State Penitentiary 

400

Conover recognizes that his perfectionist mindset is not compatible with the realities of working in the prison. Adjusting his internal expectations and learning to accept the imperfections of the job represents what emotional management strategy?

Deep acting

400

In Newjack, Conover describes CO's performing toughness and authority to meet expectations of their role. What concept examines how society constructs and communicates ideas about a particular group?

Cultural representation

500

In 3 words, what is the job of a CO about?

care, custody, and control

500

A grievance form

The concept of a complaint, perceived injustice, or an attempt to challenge an institutional decision

500

Under the Pennsylvania (or separate system), what was understood to rehabilitate offenders?

Isolation and religious reflection

500

One of the training academy instructors displayed an authoritative, angry demeanor when he learned that the recruits had not brought pens to training. However, Conover later explains that the instructor was not actually one of the mean officers, describing his behavior as “an act for opening night.” What can the instructor's behavior be understood as?

surface acting

500

When CO's interpret incarcerated people's behavior through assumptions about manipulation, danger, or distrust, what concept describes the interpretive lens through which they make sense of social situations?

Cultural frames