Date of Award
3-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Social Work
First Advisor
Debora M. Ortega
Second Advisor
Jennifer Bellamy
Third Advisor
Shannon Sliva
Keywords
Dehumanization, Human dignity, Incarcerated people, Inhumane treatment, Prison
Abstract
Cruelty and brutality are common and persistent features of prisons. Early prison institutions were characterized by poor living conditions and harsh punishments. While some of these punishments have fallen out of favor, the dehumanization of incarcerated people continues to be an enduring feature of prisons in the United States. Despite the proliferation of dehumanization research over the past few decades, there is limited empirical work that focuses on incarcerated people and how dehumanization operates within the context of imprisonment. Even fewer studies examine the phenomenon from their perspective. Consequently, the dehumanization of incarcerated people has not been well defined, and examination of the phenomenon has not been sufficiently explored. This study centers the voices, experiences, and stories of formerly incarcerated people and draws attention to a topic and population that are understudied and overlooked. The purpose of this study was to understand experiences of dehumanization in prison and how formerly incarcerated people make meaning of those experiences. Using a narrative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 people previously imprisoned in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Findings illuminate shared experiences of dehumanization and highlight how storytellers resist their dehumanization and assert their humanity. Additionally, study findings address existing gaps in the research and expand current understandings of the phenomenon through a definitional and theoretical contribution to the literature. Implications for social work education, practice, policy, and research are discussed.
Copyright Date
3-2024
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Tyler Miyoshi Han
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
244 pgs
File Size
1.3 MB
Recommended Citation
Han, Tyler Miyoshi, "“We’re Fucking Human Beings Too”: Narratives of Dehumanization and Resistance Among Formerly Incarcerated People" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2366.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2366
Discipline
Social work
Included in
Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Work Commons