Fieldsite Observation

This weekend I visited my field site. My fieldsite is the Dekalb County Jail located on Memorial Drive. This was an exciting exprence for me, I had never been to a jail before. Inside the jail every thing is organized in the way they go about doing things. Their were metal detectors, and plenty of security officers on board. I was a little disappointed in how limited my visit was. No interviews with inmates or anyone that works heavyly inside the jail. I was allowed to speak with one of the staff members who works in security to ask them some questions.
I ask the female security who's name was Jennie about the jail. She wasn't able to tell me the correct number of inmates but she did go on to say that their were more inmates then beds. I also learned that because of overcrowing that the county spends hundreds of thuosands of dollars to move inmates to other jails. This was something I didn't understand but really didn't get a clear answer. I ask Jennie about the inmates, but felt that my visit was incomplete because I didn't get to talk to inmates.
I ended up talking to people who have been inmates in the jail but so far I have only spoken to people that have spent a night or two their. Im hoping to get a clear vision on what goes on inside there from a second visit or from former inmates.

Act V

In this audio clip there are inmates discussing their views and feeling on their experience in the play hamlet. All of the inmates have a unique and very distinct reason for performing in the play.

What do the individuals in the subculture value?
The inmates that are a part of this subculture value the person they are now and not the person they once was.

What do they disdain or what is taboo?
Not taking their role serious. Being disrespectful to one another.

How do you attain group membership?
You gain membership by taking on a role in the play and portraying it to the fullest.

What activities are important to the subculture?
Practicing their parts and having group sessions talking about their past and how much they have changed (for the better).

What artifacts or behaviors are important to the subculture?
Being respectful to each other and taking guidance from the stage manager or coach.

Starting subcultures

Topic: Prison

Sources:
Dyer,Joel. The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime. Colorado: Westview Press, 2001.

Rosenblatt, Elihu. Criminal Injustice: Confronting the Prision Crisis. Massachusetts: South End Press, 1996.

Reflection:

I like the book,Criminal Injustice it has information on prision conditions and it explans how and why prisons got to be the why they are now. The book is composed of information from teachers, prisoners, death row inmates, and religious organizations. All of this would be vital information to consider if I dont get all the info I need from my research site. The book is infavor of inmates and activist that support prisioners. I will also need info from or about the people the work in the jails like parol officers. What is their day to day like not just the inmates. All of this needs to be considered as I move forward with this topic. I feel there is a lot of ground to cover I just need to make sure I can cover it.
The focus I would like to take on this project is still unclear to me. There is a lot to focus on I have to decide the best that will help tie in all of my resources, but im leaning more so to prision conditions.