This book advances conceptualisations and empirical understanding of the prison cell. It discusses the complexities of this specific carceral space and addresses its significance in relation to the everyday experiences of incarceration. The collected chapters highlight the array of processes and practices that shape carceral life, adding the cell to a rich area of discussion in penal scholarship, criminology, anthropology, sociology and carceral geography. The chapters highlight key aspects such as penal philosophies, power relationships, sensory and emotional engagements with place to highlight the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary perspectives on the prison cell: a contested place of home, labour and leisure. The Prison Cell’s empirical attention is global in its consideration, bringing together both contemporary and historical work that focuses upon the cell in the Global North and South including examples from a variety of geographical locations and settings, including police custody, prisons and immigrant detention centres. This book is an important and timely intervention in the growing and topical field of carceral studies. It presents the only standalone collection of essays with a sole focus on the space of the cell.

“Just as cells are the building blocks of all organisms so too are they the foundation of carceral life. They are places of pain, dislocation and resistance but also of sanctuary, play and domesticity. In this innovative, informative and intriguing book the cell is placed under the penal microscope to reveal connections and layers of meaning that would otherwise remain hidden.” (Professor Ian O'Donnell, University College Dublin, author of Prisoners, Solitude, and Time)

“Anyone thrown into a prison cell begins to live in the shadow of madness, according to the writer and imprisoned revolutionary, Victor Serge. This vivid collection of essays challenges the reader to think into these shadows and search for new meanings and fresh understanding of incarceration. The editors introduce a fascinating analogy and disturbing sense of scale by likening the prison cell to the microscopic biological cell. Just as prison cells “symbolically represent the monolithic values of the prison”, so arethey the living tissue of carceral space, literally “the containers of prison life”. International in scope and enlivened by a diversity of voices, including those of prisoners, this impressively edited collection is a major and innovative contribution to studies of incarceration. Read it, borrow it, share it. Bring light to the shadow.” (Dr Rod Earle, School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, The Open University)

Focusses uniquely on the prison cell, to emphasize its importance in the embodied and everyday experiences of incarceration Brings together contributions from Criminology, Geography, Cultural Studies, and Architecture and Design Includes a chapter written by current prisoners

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