Genealogies of resistance to incarceration: Abolition politics in anti-prison and deinstitutionalization activism in the U.S.

2012

Ben-Moshe (2011) Genealogies of resistance to incarceration: Abolition politics in anti-prison and deinstitutionalization activism in the U.S. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Syracuse University, NY. - ?Genealogies of resistance to incarceration: Abolition politics within de-institutionalization and anti- prison activism in the U.S.? looks at two main sites in which abolition of ?total institutions? is enacted. The first site is activism around penal and prison abolition. The second site is deinstitutionalization- the move to close down institutions for people labeled ?mentally retarded? (or intellectual/developmental disabilities) and ?mental illness? (or psychiatric disabilities). My goals in this study are twofold and interrelated. First, I investigate abolition or closure of institutions as a radical form of activism and sketch the costs and benefits of engaging in abolition as an activist tactic. I highlight the limits of reform efforts, but also the way they are used strategically to improve the lives of those who are incarcerated. My second aim is to demonstrate the interwoven relations between multiple sites of incarceration and the resistance to them.

Doctoral Dissertation or Master's Thesis

Professionals, Students

Syracuse University

N/A