The demise of corporal punishment and the regular use of imprisonment are defining features of control in modern states. This subject provides an historical and sociological examination of the models, practices and justifications for punishment and incarceration. It begins with an overview of early liberal notions of the social contract, the modern movement away from corporal punishment towards incarceration, and criminology's emphasis on treatment, reform and rehabilitation. Following from this, the subject explores the development of probation and parole systems, decarceration, community corrections, mass imprisonment, and the contemporary control of risk and 'dangerous' populations. These themes are considered through the role of intersecting structural factors such as age, gender, sexuality, social class, racial/ethnic identity and disability, and the impact of imprisonment and corrections on different individuals and groups.