Patrimonialization of prisons and scientific mediation in Europe – PatCaM

The prison system has been criticised from its inception. Since the 2000s, it has been increasingly the focus of recurrent criticism for overcrowding, indignity of detention conditions, inadequate material and human resources. While the use of prison confinement remains central to French and European penal systems, the relationship between prison and democracy continues to be posed in terms of a problem. In this context, this research and mediation project aims to foster dialogue between science and society on the issue of confinement, focusing on an original field of investigation and experimentation: the Jacques-Cartier prison in Rennes. This detention centre, operational between 1903 and 2010, is undergoing reconversion since 2021. In the French and European context, this reconversion process is particularly original as the use of the future site will be determined through a public consultation process initiated in 2023.
The PatCaM project serves a dual purpose: to make the Jacques-Cartier prison both an object of historical research and an experimental space for exploring the connections between science and society around the issue of confinement, penality, justice, and patrimonialization. The research will center on three areas: a micro-historical survey highlighting the individual trajectories of actors involved in the prison, a long-term examination of the relationship between the spatial and material organisation of the prison and the appropriation practices of the actors, and the development of scientific mediation tools based on the research findings (educational workshops, guided tours, on-site exhibitions, digital platform). The mediation strategy will be developed in collaboration with a national and European research network.