Papua New Guinea's Last Place: Experiences of Constraint in a Postcolonial Prison

Prison studies, a growing field of interest for social scientists, mostly focuses on western societies and Japan. This is the first study of a prison in the Asia Pacific area and contributes to a better understanding of life in post-colonial penal institutions. The author, who shared his respondents' lives for many months, vividly and sympathetically conveys their experiences of separation and loss. He describes their coping mechanisms that help them to adjust to an institution which has introduced Western forms of punishment alien to their own institutions and social relations.