1 Forging Selfhood
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Forging Selfhood: Masculinity, Identity and Work in Arizona's Inmate Wildfire Program Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Feldman, Lindsey Raisa Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 27/09/2021 03:46:05 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/628426 FORGING SELFHOOD: MASCULINITY, IDENTITY, AND WORK IN ARIZONA’S INMATE WILDFIRE PROGRAM by Lindsey Raisa Feldman __________________________ Copyright © Lindsey Raisa Feldman 2018 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF ANTHROPOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2018 1 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Lindsey Raisa Feldman 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the course of eight years of graduate school I would often daydream about reaching this exact moment—sitting in my sunlit home office, nearly done with the dissertation, reflecting on all those who have helped me get this far. Now that I have reached the finish line I find myself struggling to encapsulate into a single page the grace, wisdom, and patience of the many people who have made this moment possible. So, here is my humble attempt at infinite gratitude. There are some I cannot name, and there are many whom I might forget, below. I would first like to thank my dissertation committee: Drs. Thomas Sheridan, Diane Austin, Susan Shaw, and William Simmons. As a whole they have provided me with theoretical insight, methodological knowledge, and moral support. My adviser, Tom Sheridan, has remained committed to my scholarly growth while nurturing my broad academic interests. His talents as a writer and public scholar have given me a template for my future career. Diane Austin provided me not just with a job and an opportunity to practice applied anthropology, but also with an example of how to be an anthropologist of ethical fortitude. Susan Shaw continually gave me feedback on papers and chapters that challenged me to probe more deeply into the theoretical possibilities of my own work. William Simmons has become an inspiration through his engaged and profound scholarship; I am indebted to him for his intellectual support. I would like to thank The School of Anthropology, the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, and the Graduate Professional Student Council at the University of Arizona for providing me with the necessary funding to conduct my research. I am grateful for the administration and staff at The Arizona Department of Corrections who approved my project and provided me with access to the prison fire program. I would also like to thank the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, who facilitated my work with the prison fire crews and provided me with necessary equipment. I owe the existence of this dissertation to Old Pueblo Community Services; I first heard of prison firefighting while running a re-entry mentoring program at this organization, and serving on the Board of Directors for six years was instrumental in keeping my focus on the communities for whom I work and write. Finally, I extend my deepest gratitude to the participants of the prison fire program, who shared their lives and stories with me. All that follows is for you. The School of Anthropology has given me a strong foundation for my career as an anthropologist. I am indebted to the faculty who challenged me to become a better scholar. Thank you to my cohort Luminiţa-Anda Mandache and Florence Durney, who have been writing partners, co-authors, coffee dates, and confidants throughout this journey. I especially must thank Veronica Przybyl, who was my first friend in graduate school and has become family. Every winding path I have ventured on has been made easier because of her steadfast support, witty advice, and humbling generosity. I owe a debt of gratitude to my Barnard College cohort, particularly Gitanjali Dadlani Morris and Molly Ernst-Alper, who I look to every day as examples of strength and compassion. Their friendship is a true beacon; they have offered me care and understanding through both the storms and the sunlight. Acknowledging my parents, Mark Feldman and Leslie Ritter, and my sister Blair Feldman, in just a sentence is woefully insufficient. Simply put, who I am is because of them, and every goal I’ve pursued is because they made me believe I could. Lastly, I must thank Gabriel Scara. Time and again, when I’ve questioned what the future might hold, he has shown me that it can be beautiful, and is ours to make. And to the soul we’ve made together, little one, I can’t wait to show you how much goodness there is for you in this world. 4 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the incarcerated men in Arizona’s prison wildfire program. They not only shared their stories with me to make this project possible, but they kept me alive, kept me safe, and kept me laughing through 15 months of fighting wildfires. I now understand much more deeply what hope can mean, because of them. “We will not know our own injustice if we cannot imagine justice. We will not be free if we do not imagine freedom. We cannot demand that anyone try to attain justice and freedom who has not had a chance to imagine them as attainable.” — Ursula K. Le Guin “Compassion is a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.” — Pema Chödrön “Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.” — Neil Gaiman 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... 9 FREQUENTLY USED TERMS .............................................................................................................. 10 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Prologue: A story of exploding cows, or, a call for deviant case studies .............................................. 15 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 23 Stevie’s story ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Project purpose ................................................................................................................................................................. 25 Towards a complex view of the modern prison .................................................................................................. 28 Theoretical frameworks ................................................................................................................................................ 33 Prison as a site of social categorization ..................................................................................................................... 36 Prison masculinities............................................................................................................................................................. 39 Identity and resistance ....................................................................................................................................................... 42 Outline of the dissertation ............................................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 2: Research context and methodology ..................................................................................... 49 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................ 49 The Arizona Department of Corrections: a primer ............................................................................................ 50 Demographics of mass incarceration in the U.S. and Arizona ......................................................................... 50 The Arizona Department of Corrections: ideological underpinnings .........................................................