Incarcerated Interactions

Incarcerated Interactions: A Theory-Driven Analysis of Applied Prison Communication is an innovative, applied edited book that uses core interdisciplinary social science theories to analyze and describe the social psychology and sociology of communicative interactions amongst incarcerated individuals. Beginning with the fundamentals of human interactions, this edited volume allows scholars across a variety of disciplines (such as criminology, sociology, communication studies, social psychology, anthropology, and economics) to become familiar with and apply the core principles and the requisite terminology of human communication within a criminological context. Each of the four sections of the text not only build upon the knowledge structures of previous chapters, but also function as stand-alone analyses and/or applications of extant scholarship within essential contexts. From a general discussion of core social science theory to the specific application of that theory in a range of scholarly contexts, this book addresses relevant issues such as mental illness and wellness, the gendered experience of inmates, recidivism rates, violence, the criminogenic effect of incarceration and the large-scale implications of prison gangs and their associated cultural influence, to name a few.

Erik D. Fritsvold (Ph.D., University of California at Irvine) is Associate Professor and Department Chair of Sociology: Law, Crime and Justice at the University of San Diego. He also serves as the Academic Coordinator for MS Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership Program. He has been recognized as one of America’s “Best 300 Professors” by the Princeton Review. Fritsvold’s research interests focus on crime and deviance perpetrated by affluent and non-traditional groups including affluent drug dealers in Dorm Room Dealers, radical environmental activists in Under the Law, and non-traditional street gangs.

Jonathan M. Bowman (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of San Diego. He has been the recipient of the National Communication Association Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education, the discipline’s highest teaching honor. He also received the WSCA Distinguished Teaching Award, a Keck Faculty Fellowship for his focus on undergraduate research, and the Innovations in Experiential Education Award for his commitment to high-impact practices. Bowman’s research investigates interpersonal and small group communication processes, and he has two forthcoming books: InterConnections: Interpersonal Communication Foundations and Contexts and Masculinity and Student Success in Higher Education.