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Anthropology

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Abolition Of Care: An Engaged Ethnography Of The Progressive Jail Assemblage, Justin Helepololei Apr 2023

The Abolition Of Care: An Engaged Ethnography Of The Progressive Jail Assemblage, Justin Helepololei

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation draws on ethnographic research conducted with prison abolitionists and criminal justice reform activists in Western Massachusetts - a context in which the sheriffs who operate county jails see themselves as reformers. I use the concept of a “progressive jail assemblage” to analyze the varied actors and logics that sustain incarceration locally, focusing especially on the use of care discourses and practices. I consider how progressive jailing puts prison abolitionists in the position of being against some forms of care. At the same time, abolitionists have put forth competing notions of care, ones they see as building a world …


The Boundaries Of Safety: The Sanctuary Movement In The Inland Empire, Cecilia I. Vasquez Oct 2021

The Boundaries Of Safety: The Sanctuary Movement In The Inland Empire, Cecilia I. Vasquez

Doctoral Dissertations

The Trump administration for many represented drastic ideological shift in American values, and for others he embodied a social threat to their lives. In response, many cities, counties, states, and schools proclaimed themselves Sanctuaries to protect their undocumented immigrant community members. The term evokes images of churches operating as a place of refuge with impenetrable walls. The declaration of Sanctuary provided an illusion of boundaries and a sense of safety. This dissertation interrogates the meanings of sanctuary and how the Inland Empire in Southern California, implemented and created sanctuary. By analyzing the California Values Act and working alongside organizers in …


Liberation And Gravy: An Engaged Ethnography Of Queer And Trans Power In Georgia, Elias Capello Apr 2021

Liberation And Gravy: An Engaged Ethnography Of Queer And Trans Power In Georgia, Elias Capello

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims to better understand how self-identified trans activists in Atlanta, Georgia find and build community, by using queer and Black feminist community based methodologies such as participant observation, ethnographic interviews, participatory mapping, and auto-ethnography. In particular, I ask 1) How do trans people find and build community, safety, and understanding? 2) How do transgender activists create and enact place making that does not rely on policing and privatization? To create and maintain safety for wealthy communities in Atlanta, Georgia, systems of policing and privatization are increasing. Although developers, city council members, and legislators promote Atlanta, Georgia as a …