Carceral retasking and the work of historical societies at decommissioned lock-ups, jails, and prisons in Ontario

In a context of expanding carceral nation states, significant government investments are made to erect new jails and prisons. On occasion, older sites of confinement and infliction of pain are decommissioned. Many debates ensue about the preservation of such sites. Little existing literature has examined how decommissioned jails and prisons are re-purposed through a process we refer to as “carceral retasking.” Based on a five-year qualitative study, this chapter traces new purposes assigned to these sites across Ontario, Canada. We specifically explore the role played by local historical societies in the transformation of carceral sites into heritage museums, and what these findings mean for debates about memorialization of the local.

Archaeology · Criminology · Lock (firearm) · Prison · Sociology · Work (physics) · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Engineering · History · Mechanical Engineering · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Museums and Cultural Heritage

• Prison, Architecture and Humans

  Open Access•Gudrun Brottveit, Stefano Catucci et al.•Prison, Architecture and Humans•2018

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• Critical Punishment Memorialization in Canada

  Open Access•Sarah Fiander, Ashley Chen et al.•Critical Criminology•2016

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• The carceral

  Open Access•Laura Routley•Political Geography•2017

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• Les musées de prison au Canada

  Justin Piché, Kevin Walby•Déviance et Société•2018

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• Genres of heritage authenticity

  Open Access•Konstantinos Andriotis•Annals of Tourism Research•2011

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