Lukáš Dirga | University of West Bohemia (original) (raw)
Papers by Lukáš Dirga
Cílem publikace je přiblížit proměnu vězeňského systému po roce 1989 a institucionalizaci kaplans... more Cílem publikace je přiblížit proměnu vězeňského systému po roce 1989 a institucionalizaci kaplanské služby. V textu je představena historická proměna služby vězeňských kaplanů včetně nazamýšlených důsledků, které to s institucionalizací této služby přineslo.The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of the communist regime, and has gone through more than 30 years of transformation, based on an effort to make it a modern European correctional system. Part of this change is the transformation of pastoral care, which is presented as one of the key pillars of penitentiary (and also post-penitentiary) care in the Czech Republic. This text is focused on the historically changing role of prison chaplains in the process of release preparation and rehabilitation of inmates in post-communist Czech prisons. Our aim is to compare official declarations, which are reproduced in written documents, with everyday practice from the perspectives of thr...
Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN. Zakład Kryminologii, 2020
The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of t... more The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of the communist regime, and has gone through more than 30 years transformation, based on an effort to become a modern European correctional system. Part of this change is the transformation of pastoral care, which is presented as one of the key pillars of penitentiary (and also post-penitentiary) care in the Czech Republic. This text is focused on the historically changing role of prison chaplains in the process of release preparation and rehabilitation of inmates in Czech post-communist prisons. Our aim is to compare official declarations, which are reproduced in written documents, with everyday practice from the perspectives of three different groups of prison world participants. This study is based on ethnographic research conducted in Czech male prisons. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors of the prison world (prison chaplains, inmates, and representativ...
The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The te... more The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text focuses on the multiple forms of religiosity (based on different types of motivation) of inmates in Czech prisons from the perspective of three groups of respondents: prison inmates, prison guards and representatives of a number of churches. The study is based on an ethnographic study of prisons in the Czech Republic. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world, material gathered through observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the Czech penitentiary system. Through this research, we found that the key respondents feel that there is some ambivalence around the religiosity of inmates and that the pragmatic approach many inmates take to faith is becoming a controversial issue. Our research demonstrated that the presence of religiosity of inmates in prison is not really accepted in a clearly positive manner as it may...
Boundaries of Religious Freedom: Regulating Religion in Diverse Societies, 2020
In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary syste... more In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary system, focusing on a specific aspect of its evolution: the alternation between periods of a repressive approach to inmates and periods of restoration of a democratic penitentiary system. We shall also describe the changing historical status of religion within the Czech penitentiary system, including a description of the current state of affairs based on available statistical data concerning religion in Czech prisons. Owing to a lack of relevant statistical data, we present, in this chapter, only the available data, namely, data for the period between 2009 and 2016. Despite being rather limited, these data are illuminating in the Czech context. We will also critically reflect on the everyday reality of religious practice in Czech prisons. Based on analysis of key problems encountered by guards, chaplains, and inmates, we will introduce religion as a controversial and ambivalent, yet stable, phenomenon. Among the most problematic issues are those of pragmatic faith, obstacles that prevent prison chaplains from carrying out their jobs and the unsystematic and inconsistent character of penitentiary and post-penitentiary spiritual care.
Religious Freedom: Social-Scientific Approaches, 2021
Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a p... more Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a post-communist, repressive environment, religion is established, and then we demonstrate the role of the conceptualization and promotion of religious freedom requirements in interactions between prisoners, prison staff, and chaplains. Our findings show there is a power struggle occurring against the backdrop of a conflict of ideologies. At the heart of the struggle are different approaches to working with convicts and a latent dispute over the importance and role of religion in prison settings. Key actors apply different strategies in their approaches to convicts. These strategies frame experiences of religious freedom.
Advancing Corrections Journal, 2022
It has been more than 4 years since the first Open prison was established in the Czech Republic. ... more It has been more than 4 years since the first Open prison was established in the Czech Republic. Although it is still largely a pilot verification of this format under Czech conditions, the first evaluations are already appearing. The aim of this study is to present the first Czech Open prison, and to indicate the possibilities of its partial evaluation. The authors of the study are representatives of the academic community and everyday prison practice, and both are personally connected with the project. In their perspective, the Open prison project has been successful in Czech conditions. In the study, they present arguments supporting their evaluation.
Religious Freedom: Social-Scientific Approaches, 2021
Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a p... more Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a post-communist, repressive environment, religion is established, and then we demonstrate the role of the conceptualization and promotion of religious freedom requirements in interactions between prisoners, prison staff, and chaplains. Our findings show there is a power struggle occurring against the backdrop of a conflict of ideologies. At the heart of the struggle are different approaches to working with convicts and a latent dispute over the importance and role of religion in prison settings. Key actors apply different strategies in their approaches to convicts. These strategies frame experiences of religious freedom.
Czech Sociological Review
The aim of this paper is to introduce discipline of penitentiary soci ology, discuss its forms in... more The aim of this paper is to introduce discipline of penitentiary soci ology, discuss its forms in the context of the Czech Republic, and answer the question of why sociologists do not participate in everyday practice behind bars of Czech prisons even though they have formal ties with this environ ment. The findings presented in this paper are based on qualitative research conducted in Czech prisons. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world and an analysis of relevant documents relating to the research topic. Sociology and the prison system meet on two basic levels in the Czech Republic. As an external partnership that seems to have grown stronger over the years and as an internal bond that has weakened (and almost been dismissed) since the end of the 1990s. Sociology has formally retained a place behind the bars of Czech prisons thanks to the sociologists who according to the regulations of the Czech prison service should figure among the prison staff. In reality, the initial enthusiasm for this practice faded over the years and there are no sociologists currently working in Czech pris ons. In this paper the author presents some possible explanations for this, ofers a historical description of the (non)participation of sociologists in Czech prisons, and discusses the possibilities for the future development of Czech penitentiary sociology.
Czech Sociological Review, 2014
Czech Sociological Review, 2014
Sociologický Bulletin 2020, 2021
Body as a Project: The Relationship Czech Prisoners Have to Their Bodies. The text focuses on the... more Body as a Project: The Relationship Czech Prisoners Have to Their Bodies. The text focuses on the relationship inmates have to their bodies during imprisonment. The data presented in this study are based on ethnographic research carried out in Czech men's high security prisons. The data set consists of interviews with partakers from the " world of prisoners " , observations from prisons and analysis of documents relating to Czech prison service. The analysis shows there is a strong relationship between the physical body and the process of constructing manhood/masculinity in the population of inmates. The physical body is one of crucial components of the masculine/macho prison code/culture. The attitude inmates have to their bodies seems to be altering, depending on the stage of imprisonment in which they currently are. For the description of this alteration I use the concept of the body as a project, which may serve as one of the possible ways of understanding the importance of the physical body to inmates during their imprisonment and changing motivations to its further development.
The aim of this paper is to introduce a relatively new and controversial perspective in the field... more The aim of this paper is to introduce a relatively new and controversial perspective in the field of criminology to Czech readers; the Convict Criminology (or also called the New School of Convict Criminology). Convict Criminology represents especially the work of convicts or ex-convicts, in possession of a Ph.D. or on their way to completing it. After introducing the Convict Criminology, the author discusses methodological possibilities of Convict Criminology in relation to a general level of prison research. Paper is also focused on different kinds of prison researchers and on research collaboration between "inside" and " outside " observer.
This contribution is focused on the post-penitentiary care from the perspectives of religious org... more This contribution is focused on the post-penitentiary care from the perspectives of religious organizations, which participate in this area. The aim of our text is to delineate possibilities and limits of providing post-penitentiary care by religious organizations. Presented text is based on our qualitative ethnographic research, which includes interviews with key actors of prison world (inmates, prison staff, representatives of prison pastoral care and churches, representatives of non-governmental organizations), observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the role and position of religion in Czech post-communist prisons. The findings indicate that the system of spiritual post-penitentiary care is not systematically managed and main portion of responsibility for care of ex-inmates rests on the shoulders of non governmental organizations and charismatic persons with internal motivation for providing post-penitentiary care.
The sphere of prison environment is currently one of the most undiscovered topics in the social r... more The sphere of prison environment is currently one of the most undiscovered topics in the social research in the context of the Czech Republic. This article attempts partially fill out this gap. Based on ethnographic study of prison guards working in the Czech prison system, the text 1) compares situation of prison guards in USA in 1975 and current context of the Czech Republic, 2) assess relevancy of use of this concept in social research in prison total institution, and 3) analyzes the roles and meanings of sport for prison guards in connection with job in prison environment. The objective of this article is to reveal the parity or disparity in prison guard’s subcultures in USA (1975) and the Czech Republic (2014) with emphasis put on the topic of sport in Guard’s world in the Czech prisons.
This text focuses on the changing functions of prison language used by inmates in Czech prisons w... more This text focuses on the changing functions of prison language used by inmates in Czech prisons with a stress on its cryptic function. The data presented in this paper are based on original ethnographic research conducted in Czech prisons. The data for analysis were collected from qualitative interviews with selected participants of the prison environment, observations carried out inside the prisons, and from analysis of documents related to the Czech prison service. The findings indicate that the language of inmates in Czech prisons still (at least partially) retains a cryptic function in the form of secret codes.
Sociológia, 2016
The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text f... more The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text focuses on the multiple forms of religiosity (based on different types of motivation) of inmates in Czech prisons from the perspective of three groups of respondents: prison inmates, prison guards and representatives of a number of churches. The study is based on an ethnographic study of prisons in the Czech Republic. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world, material gathered through observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the Czech penitentiary system. Through this research, we found that the key respondents feel that there is some ambivalence around the religiosity of inmates and that the pragmatic approach many inmates take to faith is becoming a controversial issue. Our research demonstrated that the presence of religiosity of inmates in prison is not really accepted in a clearly positive manner as it may seem at first glance. On the contrary, the presence of it in prisons has become the subject of controversy among its main actors.
The aim of the article is to methodologically reflect possibilities and pitfalls of prison ethnog... more The aim of the article is to methodologically reflect possibilities and pitfalls of prison ethnography in the Czech prison research. Based on his own survey of Czech prisons , the author discusses some potentially dangerous parts of research in this field with emphasis placed on administrative obstacles, researcher's position in the process of data production and research ethics. Using prison ethnography in the Czech context is compared with a position of ethnography as a scientific discipline in the global prison research. Despite many methodological difficulties, the author considers the prison ethnography to be an effective way of analyzing prison system in the Czech Republic. For the purpose of successful development of the Czech prison ethnography a critical methodological discussion is necessary. The aim of the article is to contribute to such discussion.
The aim of the study was to analyse how a social hierarchy among inmates in Czech prisons is form... more The aim of the study was to analyse how a social hierarchy among inmates in Czech prisons is formed and reinforced. The data presented in this paper is based on the original ethnographic research conducted in Czech prisons. The data for analysis was collected from qualitative interviews with selected participants of the prison environment, observations carried out inside the prisons and from documents related to the Czech prison service. The findings indicate that the formation of inmate hierarchy in Czech prisons is strongly influenced by both endogenous (physical strength, psychological manipulation, economic capital, criminal history) and exogenous (effect of prison authority) factors.
Cílem publikace je přiblížit proměnu vězeňského systému po roce 1989 a institucionalizaci kaplans... more Cílem publikace je přiblížit proměnu vězeňského systému po roce 1989 a institucionalizaci kaplanské služby. V textu je představena historická proměna služby vězeňských kaplanů včetně nazamýšlených důsledků, které to s institucionalizací této služby přineslo.The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of the communist regime, and has gone through more than 30 years of transformation, based on an effort to make it a modern European correctional system. Part of this change is the transformation of pastoral care, which is presented as one of the key pillars of penitentiary (and also post-penitentiary) care in the Czech Republic. This text is focused on the historically changing role of prison chaplains in the process of release preparation and rehabilitation of inmates in post-communist Czech prisons. Our aim is to compare official declarations, which are reproduced in written documents, with everyday practice from the perspectives of thr...
Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN. Zakład Kryminologii, 2020
The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of t... more The prison system in the Czech Republic has been carrying out a reform process since the end of the communist regime, and has gone through more than 30 years transformation, based on an effort to become a modern European correctional system. Part of this change is the transformation of pastoral care, which is presented as one of the key pillars of penitentiary (and also post-penitentiary) care in the Czech Republic. This text is focused on the historically changing role of prison chaplains in the process of release preparation and rehabilitation of inmates in Czech post-communist prisons. Our aim is to compare official declarations, which are reproduced in written documents, with everyday practice from the perspectives of three different groups of prison world participants. This study is based on ethnographic research conducted in Czech male prisons. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors of the prison world (prison chaplains, inmates, and representativ...
The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The te... more The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text focuses on the multiple forms of religiosity (based on different types of motivation) of inmates in Czech prisons from the perspective of three groups of respondents: prison inmates, prison guards and representatives of a number of churches. The study is based on an ethnographic study of prisons in the Czech Republic. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world, material gathered through observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the Czech penitentiary system. Through this research, we found that the key respondents feel that there is some ambivalence around the religiosity of inmates and that the pragmatic approach many inmates take to faith is becoming a controversial issue. Our research demonstrated that the presence of religiosity of inmates in prison is not really accepted in a clearly positive manner as it may...
Boundaries of Religious Freedom: Regulating Religion in Diverse Societies, 2020
In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary syste... more In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary system, focusing on a specific aspect of its evolution: the alternation between periods of a repressive approach to inmates and periods of restoration of a democratic penitentiary system. We shall also describe the changing historical status of religion within the Czech penitentiary system, including a description of the current state of affairs based on available statistical data concerning religion in Czech prisons. Owing to a lack of relevant statistical data, we present, in this chapter, only the available data, namely, data for the period between 2009 and 2016. Despite being rather limited, these data are illuminating in the Czech context. We will also critically reflect on the everyday reality of religious practice in Czech prisons. Based on analysis of key problems encountered by guards, chaplains, and inmates, we will introduce religion as a controversial and ambivalent, yet stable, phenomenon. Among the most problematic issues are those of pragmatic faith, obstacles that prevent prison chaplains from carrying out their jobs and the unsystematic and inconsistent character of penitentiary and post-penitentiary spiritual care.
Religious Freedom: Social-Scientific Approaches, 2021
Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a p... more Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a post-communist, repressive environment, religion is established, and then we demonstrate the role of the conceptualization and promotion of religious freedom requirements in interactions between prisoners, prison staff, and chaplains. Our findings show there is a power struggle occurring against the backdrop of a conflict of ideologies. At the heart of the struggle are different approaches to working with convicts and a latent dispute over the importance and role of religion in prison settings. Key actors apply different strategies in their approaches to convicts. These strategies frame experiences of religious freedom.
Advancing Corrections Journal, 2022
It has been more than 4 years since the first Open prison was established in the Czech Republic. ... more It has been more than 4 years since the first Open prison was established in the Czech Republic. Although it is still largely a pilot verification of this format under Czech conditions, the first evaluations are already appearing. The aim of this study is to present the first Czech Open prison, and to indicate the possibilities of its partial evaluation. The authors of the study are representatives of the academic community and everyday prison practice, and both are personally connected with the project. In their perspective, the Open prison project has been successful in Czech conditions. In the study, they present arguments supporting their evaluation.
Religious Freedom: Social-Scientific Approaches, 2021
Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a p... more Our aim is to explain how religious freedoms are applied in Czech prisons. We present how, in a post-communist, repressive environment, religion is established, and then we demonstrate the role of the conceptualization and promotion of religious freedom requirements in interactions between prisoners, prison staff, and chaplains. Our findings show there is a power struggle occurring against the backdrop of a conflict of ideologies. At the heart of the struggle are different approaches to working with convicts and a latent dispute over the importance and role of religion in prison settings. Key actors apply different strategies in their approaches to convicts. These strategies frame experiences of religious freedom.
Czech Sociological Review
The aim of this paper is to introduce discipline of penitentiary soci ology, discuss its forms in... more The aim of this paper is to introduce discipline of penitentiary soci ology, discuss its forms in the context of the Czech Republic, and answer the question of why sociologists do not participate in everyday practice behind bars of Czech prisons even though they have formal ties with this environ ment. The findings presented in this paper are based on qualitative research conducted in Czech prisons. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world and an analysis of relevant documents relating to the research topic. Sociology and the prison system meet on two basic levels in the Czech Republic. As an external partnership that seems to have grown stronger over the years and as an internal bond that has weakened (and almost been dismissed) since the end of the 1990s. Sociology has formally retained a place behind the bars of Czech prisons thanks to the sociologists who according to the regulations of the Czech prison service should figure among the prison staff. In reality, the initial enthusiasm for this practice faded over the years and there are no sociologists currently working in Czech pris ons. In this paper the author presents some possible explanations for this, ofers a historical description of the (non)participation of sociologists in Czech prisons, and discusses the possibilities for the future development of Czech penitentiary sociology.
Czech Sociological Review, 2014
Czech Sociological Review, 2014
Sociologický Bulletin 2020, 2021
Body as a Project: The Relationship Czech Prisoners Have to Their Bodies. The text focuses on the... more Body as a Project: The Relationship Czech Prisoners Have to Their Bodies. The text focuses on the relationship inmates have to their bodies during imprisonment. The data presented in this study are based on ethnographic research carried out in Czech men's high security prisons. The data set consists of interviews with partakers from the " world of prisoners " , observations from prisons and analysis of documents relating to Czech prison service. The analysis shows there is a strong relationship between the physical body and the process of constructing manhood/masculinity in the population of inmates. The physical body is one of crucial components of the masculine/macho prison code/culture. The attitude inmates have to their bodies seems to be altering, depending on the stage of imprisonment in which they currently are. For the description of this alteration I use the concept of the body as a project, which may serve as one of the possible ways of understanding the importance of the physical body to inmates during their imprisonment and changing motivations to its further development.
The aim of this paper is to introduce a relatively new and controversial perspective in the field... more The aim of this paper is to introduce a relatively new and controversial perspective in the field of criminology to Czech readers; the Convict Criminology (or also called the New School of Convict Criminology). Convict Criminology represents especially the work of convicts or ex-convicts, in possession of a Ph.D. or on their way to completing it. After introducing the Convict Criminology, the author discusses methodological possibilities of Convict Criminology in relation to a general level of prison research. Paper is also focused on different kinds of prison researchers and on research collaboration between "inside" and " outside " observer.
This contribution is focused on the post-penitentiary care from the perspectives of religious org... more This contribution is focused on the post-penitentiary care from the perspectives of religious organizations, which participate in this area. The aim of our text is to delineate possibilities and limits of providing post-penitentiary care by religious organizations. Presented text is based on our qualitative ethnographic research, which includes interviews with key actors of prison world (inmates, prison staff, representatives of prison pastoral care and churches, representatives of non-governmental organizations), observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the role and position of religion in Czech post-communist prisons. The findings indicate that the system of spiritual post-penitentiary care is not systematically managed and main portion of responsibility for care of ex-inmates rests on the shoulders of non governmental organizations and charismatic persons with internal motivation for providing post-penitentiary care.
The sphere of prison environment is currently one of the most undiscovered topics in the social r... more The sphere of prison environment is currently one of the most undiscovered topics in the social research in the context of the Czech Republic. This article attempts partially fill out this gap. Based on ethnographic study of prison guards working in the Czech prison system, the text 1) compares situation of prison guards in USA in 1975 and current context of the Czech Republic, 2) assess relevancy of use of this concept in social research in prison total institution, and 3) analyzes the roles and meanings of sport for prison guards in connection with job in prison environment. The objective of this article is to reveal the parity or disparity in prison guard’s subcultures in USA (1975) and the Czech Republic (2014) with emphasis put on the topic of sport in Guard’s world in the Czech prisons.
This text focuses on the changing functions of prison language used by inmates in Czech prisons w... more This text focuses on the changing functions of prison language used by inmates in Czech prisons with a stress on its cryptic function. The data presented in this paper are based on original ethnographic research conducted in Czech prisons. The data for analysis were collected from qualitative interviews with selected participants of the prison environment, observations carried out inside the prisons, and from analysis of documents related to the Czech prison service. The findings indicate that the language of inmates in Czech prisons still (at least partially) retains a cryptic function in the form of secret codes.
Sociológia, 2016
The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text f... more The Religiosity Behind Bars: Forms of Inmate's Religiosity in the Czech Prison System. The text focuses on the multiple forms of religiosity (based on different types of motivation) of inmates in Czech prisons from the perspective of three groups of respondents: prison inmates, prison guards and representatives of a number of churches. The study is based on an ethnographic study of prisons in the Czech Republic. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors in the prison world, material gathered through observations inside prisons and an analysis of the documentation on the Czech penitentiary system. Through this research, we found that the key respondents feel that there is some ambivalence around the religiosity of inmates and that the pragmatic approach many inmates take to faith is becoming a controversial issue. Our research demonstrated that the presence of religiosity of inmates in prison is not really accepted in a clearly positive manner as it may seem at first glance. On the contrary, the presence of it in prisons has become the subject of controversy among its main actors.
The aim of the article is to methodologically reflect possibilities and pitfalls of prison ethnog... more The aim of the article is to methodologically reflect possibilities and pitfalls of prison ethnography in the Czech prison research. Based on his own survey of Czech prisons , the author discusses some potentially dangerous parts of research in this field with emphasis placed on administrative obstacles, researcher's position in the process of data production and research ethics. Using prison ethnography in the Czech context is compared with a position of ethnography as a scientific discipline in the global prison research. Despite many methodological difficulties, the author considers the prison ethnography to be an effective way of analyzing prison system in the Czech Republic. For the purpose of successful development of the Czech prison ethnography a critical methodological discussion is necessary. The aim of the article is to contribute to such discussion.
The aim of the study was to analyse how a social hierarchy among inmates in Czech prisons is form... more The aim of the study was to analyse how a social hierarchy among inmates in Czech prisons is formed and reinforced. The data presented in this paper is based on the original ethnographic research conducted in Czech prisons. The data for analysis was collected from qualitative interviews with selected participants of the prison environment, observations carried out inside the prisons and from documents related to the Czech prison service. The findings indicate that the formation of inmate hierarchy in Czech prisons is strongly influenced by both endogenous (physical strength, psychological manipulation, economic capital, criminal history) and exogenous (effect of prison authority) factors.
Call for papers for upcoming monothematic edition of the Acta FF academic review of the Faculty o... more Call for papers for upcoming monothematic edition of the Acta FF academic review of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of West Bohemia (Pilsen, Czech Republic). The subject of this monothematic edition of the Acta FF magazine is focused on the prison system, which we will attempt to explore on a general level, without applying strict boundaries, thus preserving the openness of the topic.
Dirga, Lukáš. 2014. „Irene Becci: Imprisoned Religion: Transformation of Religion during and afte... more Dirga, Lukáš. 2014. „Irene Becci: Imprisoned Religion: Transformation of Religion during and after Imprisonment in Eastern Germany.“ Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 50 (4): 628-630
Dirga, Lukáš. 2013. „Deborah H. Drake: Prisons, Punishment and the Pursuit of Security, Critical ... more Dirga, Lukáš. 2013. „Deborah H. Drake: Prisons, Punishment and the Pursuit of Security, Critical Criminological Perspectives .“ Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 49 (2): 335-337
Předkládaná zpráva zachycuje průběh významné mezinárodní kriminologické konference pořádané Europ... more Předkládaná zpráva zachycuje průběh významné mezinárodní kriminologické konference pořádané European Society of Criminology ve dnech 2. až 5. září 2015 v portugalském městě Portu. (This conference report describes a significant international criminological conference of the European Society of Criminology (EUROCRIM 2015) in Porto from 2 to 5 September 2015).
EUROCRIM2019 (Ghent, Belgium), 2019
There were many perspectives applied to analyse prison world in the Czech Republic, but despite t... more There were many perspectives applied to analyse prison world in the Czech Republic, but despite this life behind prison walls and bars is still rather unexplored environment. In this context, author will provide presentation focused on analysis of Czech prisons as informational networks. Informational network perspective is based on author’s ethnographic research inside Czech male prisons. The data for analysis was collected from qualitative interviews with selected participants of the prison environment, observations carried out inside the prisons and from documents related to the Czech prison service. The findings prove this perspective to be an original and beneficial contribution to (not only) Czech prison research.
Conference contribution focuses on the process of humanization of Czech prison system from perspe... more Conference contribution focuses on the process of humanization of Czech prison system from perspectives of key actors of prison world: inmates, prison guards, civil servants and members of management of prisons. The contribution is based on an ethnographic study of prisons in the Czech Republic. The data corpus includes qualitative interviews with selected actors of the prison world, material gathered through observation inside the prisons and the analysis of the documentation on the Czech penitentiary system.
Porod: péče, 2023
Autoři ve své kapitole uvedou čtenáře do problematiky mateřství a péče o dítě během výkonu trestu... more Autoři ve své kapitole uvedou čtenáře do problematiky mateřství a péče o dítě během výkonu trestu odnětí svobody. Uvěznění představuje výrazný životní milník narušující sociální život jedince a vazeb, které dosud v civilním životě budoval. Důsledky uvěznění dopadají tvrdě zejména na rodinné vztahy, přičemž vztah rodič-dítě je v posledních letech silně akcentován. Jakým způsobem tedy dopadá uvěznění rodičů na ně samotné a jejich děti? Lze tyto následky nějakým způsobem minimalizovat? Je možné býti matkou i za mřížemi vězeňských zařízení? Autoři představí odbornou debatu odehrávající se k uvedenému tématu na poli kriminologie a penitenciární sociologie. Následně obrací pozornost k české praxi a představují unikátní oddíl pro výkon trestu matek nezletilých dětí fungující ve Věznici Světlá nad Sázavou. Český kontext porovnají se zahraničním a nabídnou vlastní reflexi spojením perspektiv dlouholeté ředitelky českých věznic a výzkumníka na poli penitenciární sociologie.
Academia, 2023
Kniha Vězeň na útěku zavede čtenáře do světa za vysokými zdmi s ostnatým drátem a představí fenom... more Kniha Vězeň na útěku zavede čtenáře do světa za vysokými zdmi s ostnatým drátem a představí fenomén, který je sice kvantitativně ojedinělý, zato však úzce provázaný s životy nejen vězněných osob, ale také dalších aktérů vězeňského světa. Autoři v knize diskutují možnosti definování vězeňských útěků, vysvětlují, kdo, proč a jak z vězení utíká, a na základě práce s dostupnými daty vyvrací nepravdy spojené s interpretací útěků z vězeňských zařízení. Prostřednictvím skutečných příběhů, které se odehrály v českém a zahraničím kontextu, přibližují historii i současnost vězeňských útěků a jejich rozmanitá, fascinující a překvapivá provedení.
Náboženství za mřížemi: Stále(é) i nestálé, 2023
Autoři předkládané publikace si kladou několik cílů: Představit, jak se proměňuje význam a role n... more Autoři předkládané publikace si kladou několik cílů: Představit, jak se proměňuje význam a role náboženství za mřížemi českých věznic. Poskytnout srovnání přístupů k tématu v zahraničí a u nás. Na příkladu vlastních výzkumů analyzovat perspektivy aktérů pohybujících se v prostředí věznic. Ať už jde o samotné odsouzené, zaměstnance věznice či specificky vězeňské kaplany. Předkládaná kniha tak spojuje dvě velká témata z prostředí sociálních věd, náboženství a vězeňství. Jedná se o první publikaci, která v českém kontextu nabízí takto široce pojaté prolnutí uvedených společenských institucí. Význam publikace spočívá rovněž v tom, že ani v zahraničí nepatří sociálněvědní výzkum role náboženství v prostředí věznic do mainstreamového proudu.
Humanizace je jedním z ústředních motivů českého porevolučního vězeňství. Jak o humanizaci vypoví... more Humanizace je jedním z ústředních motivů českého porevolučního vězeňství. Jak o humanizaci vypovídají zaměstnanci věznic a vězněné osoby? Jak se humanizační tendence projevují v každodenní vězeňské praxi? Kniha Humanizace českého vězeňství očima jeho aktérů přináší popis různorodosti definic a přístupů aktérů světa za mřížemi českých věznic k procesu humanizace českého vězeňství na základě vlastního autorova dlouhodobého terénního výzkumu.
Humanization is one of central issues of the Czech post-revolutionary prison system. How is the process of humanization described by prison staff and inmates? What are consequences of humanization in everyday practice behind bars in Czech prisons? The book Humanization of the Czech prison system from the perspectives of its actors describes heterogeneity of definitions and attitudes of prison actors to the process of humanization based on long-term research.
Religion and Prison: An Overview of Contemporary Europe, 2020
In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary syste... more In this chapter, we shall make a brief excursion into the history of the Czech penitentiary system, focusing on a specific aspect of its evolution: the alternation between periods of a repressive approach to inmates and periods of restoration of a democratic penitentiary system. We shall also describe the changing historical status of religion within the Czech penitentiary system, including a description of the current state of affairs based on available statistical data concerning religion in Czech prisons. Owing to a lack of relevant statistical data, we present, in this chapter, only the available data, namely, data for the period between 2009 and 2016. Despite being rather limited, these data are illuminating in the Czech context. We will also critically reflect on the everyday reality of religious practice in Czech prisons. Based on analysis of key problems encountered by guards, chaplains, and inmates, we will introduce religion as a controversial and ambivalent, yet stable, phenomenon. Among the most problematic issues are those of pragmatic faith, obstacles that prevent prison chaplains from carrying out their jobs and the unsystematic and inconsistent character of penitentiary and post-penitentiary spiritual care.
Česká kriminologie, 2021
Vážené kolegyně, vážení kolegové, dovolil jsem si sepsat tuto krátkou glosu jako reakci na nedávn... more Vážené kolegyně, vážení kolegové, dovolil jsem si sepsat tuto krátkou glosu jako reakci na nedávnou mediální prezentaci vybraných příběhů jedinců "toužících" po uvěznění. Televize NOVA odvysílala dne 28. 9. 2021 v rámci hlavní zpravodajské relace reportáž nesoucí název "Na zimu do vězení", ve které bylo pojednáno o fenoménu dobrovolných uvěznění s ohledem na blížící se zimní období. Na základě několika (velmi málo) příkladů byl vykreslen modus operandi "nelogických" zločinů, jejichž jediným cílem je skončit ve výkonu trestu odnětí svobody. Uvedené téma se v mediálních sděleních i odborných diskusích pravidelně opakuje, ačkoli se nejedná o masový trend, ale spíše o ojedinělé případy. Domnívám se, že ne vždy je také spojeno s kladením si vhodných otázek. Zmíněná reportáž je příkladem prezentace tradičního stereotypického rámce (tzv. framing), který nenápadně podsouvá divákům způsob, jak předmětné příběhy interpretovat.