Previous weeks' Tuesday Trivias and the complete upcoming schedule.
Today's Trivia theme comes to us from /u/ZMild!
Do not pass go, do not collect $200, because we’re all going to jail today on Tuesday Trivia. Please share what jail/prison was like in the place and time of your choice, or, share the alternatives to imprisonment such as penal colonies, execution, and so on. Anything about civil punishments is good to share!
Next Week on Tuesday Trivia: We’re looking for the very small and forgotten things next week, those little bits of daily life in history that no one would realize are missing from modern life.
It's Trivia, so I guess the question standards are a bit laxer -- please let me know if this violates the rules. A couple questions to get this thing kicking:
What was the 'jailingest' society known to humanity, either by percentage or absolute numbers (please exclude inherited slavery)?
Can you kindly provide some historical examples of frequently-used alternatives to outright incarceration?
I'm reading Foucault's book on punishment. The first chapter was fine while he was giving examples but in the end he dives into lengthy gloating about the sheer depth of insight provided by grasping ideas in the process of their historical development, as if it's not a French philosopher but the Marx-Engels institute of Vukojebina publishing another lorem ipsum.
What do historians hold of Foucault? Should I finish the book?
It's quiet, so I'll suggest a topic if I may:
What's the history of Conjugal Visits?
Which imprisoned criminals got those special visits in times past? From married partners only, to visits from prostitutes? Have female prisoners been treated equally, and given a little private time with their male partners? If someone was to be executed in the morning, did anyone ever traditionally get a special 'last meal'?
What was the main reason for going from corporal punishment, exile etc. to modern incarceration?