Rachel Rose Tynan was awarded her PhD in Sociology from Goldsmiths in 2018 and manages prison/university partnerships and other criminal and social justice projects.

• 1 ‘Be easy, see wagwan’: IntroductionThe shape of the field Crime, risk and harmChapter outline2 ‘My story’s boring’: Why young prisoners’ stories matterThe political economy of crimeUnderstanding prisons or understanding prisoners?The fact of blackness and double consciousness Shame and (symbolic) violenceTowards a phenomenology of long-term imprisonment. Conclusion 3 ‘Real talk’: Methodology and reflections on fieldworkGetting in Research as ‘passing’Becoming participant Paper files and straw men Ethics and safety 4 ‘Just gotta ride it’: Adaptation, survival and change Life before Cypress From the first day to everyday The carceral habitus. Conclusion 5 ‘That’s just their pen and ink’: Resisting the pains of imprisonment Atmosphere, accessories and alienation 'It's just not a nice place to be'Deprivation of corporeal experience Identity Conclusion 6 ‘Obviously, you can’t just back down...’ Violence and identity ‘Gangs’, groups and good old fashioned fighting Place, space and keeping face Violence and collective identity Collectivism vs individualismConclusion 7 ‘Clothes, food and love...’: family, fatherhood and the limits of fratriarchySomething in the way ‘It is what it is’: maintaining family ties Fatehrs and fatherhoodThings fall apart Allies, associates and alliances Conclusion 8 ‘Jail’s not gonna do nothin’...at all’: ConclusionBiography, habitus and trauma The experience and resistance of imposed class, racial and legal status and prisonisation Beyond the (purely) sociological imagination Impelling the phenomenology of youth imprisonment