CRM 370 - Prison and Police Abolition

This course reckons with the United States infamous status as the world leader in imprisonment and police violence, It introduces prison and police abolition as problems of ethical inquiry, social responsibility, and citizenship. Students will gain a foundation in the history of abolition in the struggle against slavery and to the current movement to abolish prisons and policing. Through this survey, the course examines police power and incarceration as state strategies for administering poverty and reproducing racial difference. Abolition is not just about dismantling oppressive institutions, however. It is also a project to establish new ways of redressing harm and build a new way of living that abolishes the violence of the present order. The course contrasts retributive justice with restorative and transformative conceptions of justice. It also explores the challenges of making structural change, raising difficult dilemmas about the nature of reform, law and civil disobedience, and direct action.

Prerequisite(s): CRM 100 or permission
Co-requisite(s):
Credits: 3

Meets the Following Core Requirement: Ethical Inquiry, Social Responsibility, and Citizenship
Course Typically Offered:
Course Type: Criminology