Originally, I proposed a research project in collaboration with Farida. However my research has taken me along a different path. I’m interested in doing more research on what Ruth Gilmore coins the “civil death.” I want to learn more about the violence being done on incarcerated individuals by the restriction of their rights and how this violence affects their citizenship and what this violence tells us about their citizenship.

            Because I am also doing an independent study project with Joel, I think I will do the research project alone, hoping that both projects could connect to each other and ultimately be incorporated into my thesis.

In recent classes we've had a great dialogue about dealing with systemic injustices built into institutions. There is a theme going on about dismantling systems from the outside versus/while seeking to improve conditions from the inside. Are the two approaches mutually exclusive? Can the tools and system of the oppressing institution be used to fix said institution, or do we need something more radical than reformation? 

I'm not quite sure where this question will take me yet, or what thesis I'll be developing on, but I'd like to do some research into the prison abolition and prison reform movements. Are these movements so far opposed in their goals or can they harmonize?

A lot of artworks and possibilities for multimedia expressions:

http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/the-art-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement

Public schools and prisons reflect and reinforce societial expectations and the concerns and interests of the wealthy and powerful. How are public schools and prisons run/ designed/operated similarly? How is the experience of being a student in a public school similar to being locked-up? What are the contrasts between surveillance in public schools and prisons? What is the purpose of surveillance in these two institutions? How is punishment comparable in public schools and prisons? How are the objectives being met ot not? I want to focus on high school students in public schools, specifically in Philadelphia.

RESEARCH QUESTION:

“What should be done in prison and outside of prison to rehabilitate incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated people?” - Sheila Pinkel, in a reply to my comment on her invitation

i did not do an initial response to sheila’s to have some sort of basis to start research, which i think put me at a disadvantage. while i started something (and might post it), i then struggled a bit with where to go.

part of this struggle is because i already consider myself a prison abolitionist. i don’t claim to know even a whole lot about prisons, but in a way, i feel like i know enough to hold steady to my belief. 

the thing is, i know textually how some communities are affected by incarceration. i know many ways in which black and latinx individuals are incarcerated and put to “civil death” more frequently. i know that women face rape more. a lot of things i know intellectually, but have little personal experience to connect myself with the individuals.

Research Question

How does the school-to-prison pipeline affect American Indians today, especially regarding their educational history?