Qualitative Inquiry

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Click here for more information on The Virtual Advisor

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tracy, S. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 10, No. 4, 509-533 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1077800403259716

The Construction of Correctional Officers: Layers of Emotionality Behind Bars

Sarah J. Tracy

Arizona State University

This "layered account," based on qualitative research gathered at a county jail and state women’s prison, illustrates the ways in which organizational discourses and micropractices encourage emotional constructions such as withdrawal, paranoia, detachment, and an "us-them" mentality among correctional officers. Using philosophies from Michele Foucault, the analysis extends theoretical notions of emotion labor, illustrates the harnessed yet pervasive nature of sexuality in a total institution, and sheds light on the emotional challenges faced by a troubled, hidden, and stigmatized employee group. The text jumps among theoretical arguments, notes about methodology and writing, and creative nonfiction vignettes and in doing so, attempts to embody the emotional and jarring nature of the correctional environment.

Key Words: emotion labor • Foucault • qualitative research • prison • total institution


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Human RelationsHome page
C. Coupland, A. D. Brown, K. Daniels, and M. Humphreys
Saying it with feeling: Analysing speakable emotions
Human Relations, March 1, 2008; 61(3): 327 - 353.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 The Prison JournalHome page
M. Inderbitzin
Guardians of the State's Problem Children: An Ethnographic Study of Staff Members in a Juvenile Correctional Facility
The Prison Journal, December 1, 2006; 86(4): 431 - 451.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Management Communication QuarterlyHome page
S. J. Tracy, P. Lutgen-Sandvik, and J. K. Alberts
Nightmares, Demons, and Slaves: Exploring the Painful Metaphors of Workplace Bullying
Management Communication Quarterly, November 1, 2006; 20(2): 148 - 185.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Management Communication QuarterlyHome page
S. J. Tracy and C. Scott
Sexuality, Masculinity, and Taint Management Among Firefighters and Correctional Officers: Getting Down and Dirty With "America's Heroes" and the "Scum of Law Enforcement"
Management Communication Quarterly, August 1, 2006; 20(1): 6 - 38.
[Abstract] [PDF]