Justice Initiatives Book Club: Prison By Any Other Name by Maya Schenwar & Victoria Law
Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data-driven surveillance. Extended probation. These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons. But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net, weaving in new strands of punishment and control, and bringing new populations, who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment, under physical control by the state.
As mainstream public opinion has begun to turn against mass incarceration, political figures on both sides of the spectrum are pushing for reform. But—though they’re promoted as steps to confront high rates of imprisonment—many of these measures are transforming our homes and communities into prisons instead.
In Prison by Any Other Name, activist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law reveal the way the kinder, gentler narrative of reform can obscure agendas of social control and challenge us to question the ways we replicate the status quo when pursuing change. A foreword by Michelle Alexander situates the book in the context of criminal justice reform conversations. Finally, the book offers a bolder vision for truly alternative justice practices.
Start off your 2021 reading list by joining us for a book discussion group Mondays in January—1/4, 1/11, 1/18, and 1/25—at 6pm on Zoom.
Please register and sign up to receive news about other BPL virtual programming. Registration is limited to 30 participants, with a waiting list.
This is the seventh installment of Justice Initiatives’ book club. We’ll invite readers to dive into a new title every month, sparking conversations about social power, dismantling oppressive systems, and fostering collective action.
Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data-driven surveillance. Extended probation. These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons. But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net, weaving in new strands of punishment and control, and bringing new populations, who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment, under physical control by the state.
As mainstream public opinion has begun to turn against mass incarceration, political figures on both sides of the spectrum are pushing for reform. But—though they’re promoted as steps to confront high rates of imprisonment—many of these measures are transforming our homes and communities into prisons instead.
In Prison by Any Other Name, activist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law reveal the way the kinder, gentler narrative of reform can obscure agendas of social control and challenge us to question the ways we replicate the status quo when pursuing change. A foreword by Michelle Alexander situates the book in the context of criminal justice reform conversations. Finally, the book offers a bolder vision for truly alternative justice practices.
Start off your 2021 reading list by joining us for a book discussion group Mondays in January—1/4, 1/11, 1/18, and 1/25—at 6pm on Zoom.
Please register and sign up to receive news about other BPL virtual programming. Registration is limited to 30 participants, with a waiting list.
This is the seventh installment of Justice Initiatives’ book club. We’ll invite readers to dive into a new title every month, sparking conversations about social power, dismantling oppressive systems, and fostering collective action.
Brooklyn Public Library - Virtual MM/DD/YYYY 60