Curative, regenerating, redemptive and liberating? The systematic production of ignorance in Michael Gove’s rhetoric on prison reform at a time of crisis

Peacock, Chloe. 2019. Curative, regenerating, redemptive and liberating? The systematic production of ignorance in Michael Gove’s rhetoric on prison reform at a time of crisis. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, 15(1), pp. 89-105. ISSN 1741-6590 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Abstract
Prisons are in a moment of crisis, with a number of recent high-profile scandals receiving substantial media attention and threatening to undermine the hegemony of the institution. At the same time, the work of the current Conservative Government on criminal justice policy as a whole, and on prisons in particular, has been seen by many as a marked departure from their previous penal policy agenda, heralding a new, progressive and broadly liberal direction. Focusing on Michael Gove’s rhetoric on prison reform during his term as Justice Secretary (May 2015 to July 2016), this article uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine how Gove employed a variety of discursive strategies to create an impression of a liberal, progressive reform agenda, while simultaneously reinforcing the need for an expansive and punitive prison system. Building on recent work on agnotology, it shows that Gove strategically selected, deflected, distorted and ignored the available evidence on prisons. In doing so, he effectively legitimized and reinforced the central role of the prison in the criminal justice system despite increasing evidence of its inefficacy, foreclosing discussion of genuinely radical alternatives.

Keywords
Agnotology, critical discourse analysis, ignorance, Michael Gove, prison reform

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659017740714

Keywords:

Agnotology, critical discourse analysis, ignorance, Michael Gove, prison reform

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Sociology > Research students

Dates:

DateEvent
6 November 2017Published Online
1 March 2019Published

Item ID:

23722

Date Deposited:

20 Jul 2018 15:07

Last Modified:

10 Jun 2021 05:02

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/23722

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