Europäische Jugendbildungs- und Jugendbegegnungsstätte Weimar

Prisonsystem – Guilt and Punishment

Previous knowledge: none

Background

Why are there prisons and what does imprisonment mean? What systems of thought underlie our understanding of guilt, punishment and being »locked away behind walls«? And can you really »serve« a sentence? What happens afterwards and who is actually sitting in there? Is the punishment used in the same way in every country?

The workshop provides a fundamental understanding of the penal- and prison-system that prevails in Germany and questions the goal of deprivation of liberty: rehabilitation. Then the perpetrator’s perspective is brought to the fore: What are classic perpetrator biographies, which individual fates take place in secret (behind the walls) and what happens after the sentence has been served? Dealing with the perpetrator as a subject raises the question of what is actually condemned and punished – the act or the person? How a country deals with offenders has consequences for our thinking and affects our everyday interactions.

Aims

The workshop aims to enlighten and bring this (wall) fixed component of our society out of the shadows. The aim is demystification, education and the acquisition of critical reflection skills, including oneself and the immediate environment. Dealing with the penal system and the perpetrator as a subject raises the question of what is actually condemned and punished – the act or the person? How a country deals with offenders has consequences for our thinking and affects our everyday interactions.

Notes

• This workshop can be held in German or English.
• It can be booked as an on-site /​ face-to-face workshop as well as an online workshop.

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