Mass Incarceration and Public Policy

The US incarcerates more people than any other country on earth. A disproportionate percentage of those incarcerated are black and from historically disadvantaged communities. This course examines how this reality is shaped through public policy, and what is necessary to change it. This course will use the case of mass incarceration to explore the specific drivers of criminal justice policy, but also the factors that shape public policy more generally -- legislation, entrenched bureaucracies, organizational cultures, politics, public opinion, political economy, the persistence of structural racism, and others. Students will learn about the obstacles that these factors create, as well as theories and examples of how to transcend them. Students will gain knowledge of the breadth of the cycles of mass incarceration, what Michelle Alexander calls the phases of the "round-up" into the system, the "formal control" when people are inside, and the "invisible punishment" that lingers as people with the mark of a criminal record are released. With an understanding of these interlocking systems, students will explore entry points for transformation of the system.

Fall, Spring