Redeeming Imprisonment: Religion and the Development of Mass Incarceration in Florida by Cyrus J. O’Brien A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology and History) in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 2018 Doctoral Committee: Professor Matthew Lassiter, Chair Associate Professor Stephen Berrey Professor Paul C. Johnson Professor Stuart Kirsch Professor Heather Ann Thompson Cyrus J. O’Brien
[email protected] [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0620-0938 © Cyrus J. O’Brien 2018 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements are the first thing I read when I pick up a book or browse through a dissertation, and they always put me in a good mood. I love the ways they speak to networks of camaraderie, convey thanks to amazing mentors, pay homage to intellectual genealogies, acknowledge long-lasting relationships to people and places, situate the author institutionally, and celebrate friendships and other joys of life. Like many dissertation writers, I have many relationships to celebrate and much to be grateful for. What follows is a woefully inadequate message of thanks. First and foremost, I thank the people who helped with this research whom I am unable to name. Scores of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people helped me figure out what was happening in Florida prisons, and I am indebted to each of them. I also want to thank the many volunteers and prison staff who generously talked with me, answered my questions, and helped me understand their work and lives. I particularly want to thank the handful of men at Wakulla who transcended the roles of “research participants” to become my friends and collaborators.