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Genealogies of Resistance to Incarceration: Abolition Politics Within Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Prison Activism in the U.S

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Genealogies of Resistance to Incarceration: Abolition Politics Within Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Prison Activism in the U.S Syracuse University SURFACE Sociology - Dissertations Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs 12-1-2011 Genealogies of Resistance to Incarceration: Abolition Politics within Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Prison Activism in the U.S. Liat Ben-Moshe Syracuse University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://surface.syr.edu/soc_etd Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Ben-Moshe, Liat, "Genealogies of Resistance to Incarceration: Abolition Politics within Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Prison Activism in the U.S." (2011). Sociology - Dissertations. Paper 70. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dissertation Abstract “Genealogies of resistance to incarceration: Abolition politics within de-institutionalization and anti- prison activism in the U.S.” looks at two main sites in which abolition of “total institutions” is enacted. The first site is activism around penal and prison abolition. The second site is deinstitutionalization- the move to close down institutions for people labeled “mentally retarded” (or intellectual/developmental disabilities) and “mental illness” (or psychiatric disabilities). My goals in this study are twofold and interrelated. First, I investigate abolition or closure of institutions as a radical form of activism and sketch the costs and benefits of engaging in abolition as an activist tactic. I highlight the limits of reform efforts, but also the way they are used strategically to improve the lives of those who are incarcerated. My second aim is to demonstrate the interwoven relations between multiple sites of incarceration and the resistance to them. I begin by sketching an alternative historiography of prisons and institutions in an attempt to paint some of the perils of these systems that were present from their inception. These landscapes of incarceration are also mapped out in both historical and ideological ways. The phenomenon of psychiatric and developmental disabilities centers closing and then turning into prisons will be highlighted as a parable of the cyclical nature of social control. I also connect prisons and mental institutions by demonstrating the ways in which such institutions shifted from being rehabilitating to custodial; were (and are) embedded in notions of danger; were created for economic gain; and were influenced by increased medicalization, as well as racist and eugenic impetuses that mark them to this day. One of the contributions of my research is in the utilization of Michel Foucault‟s work not only theoretically, but also methodologically. Genealogies interrogate truth claiming, notions of (scientific) progress, and the discovery of one universal truth, and provide means to extrapolate buried histories of ideas and actions that have been discarded and discredited. As part of this genealogical excavation, I critically investigate instances of possibility, both in deinstitutionalization as a tactic, a dream and its unfulfilled promises and in relation to current prison abolition work and the vision of non-punitive society. During and in the aftermath of the move out of institutions, many critiques were laid out by policy makers, academics, and organizations that cater to people with disabilities. In the popular imagination these staunch criticisms have led to a backlash toward what can be characterized as “the failure of deinstitutionalization.” Part of this genealogy is devoted to investigating the chasm between activists‟ perception of the process of institutional closure and that of their critics. As part of such excavation, I also offer an analysis of the ways in which disability, mental illness and prisoners have been constructed in the social sciences (what Foucault characterizes as erudite knowledge), as well as the ways in which these characterizations are resisted, enacted or performed by prison abolition and de-institutionalization activists. I particularly highlight the critiques of the social world offered by those engaging in deinstitutionalization and prison abolition (about disability/mental illness/mental retardation, concepts of home and community, dependence, crime and punishment, social control, social justice etc.). Genealogy also encompasses the excavation of subjugated knowledges, in the Foucauldian sense as both buried histories -the story of the enactment of prisons and institutions told by the activists who wish to abolish them; and disqualified knowledge- disability studies, anti psychiatry scholarship and critical prison studies as forms of knowledge that are deemed non-scientific and illegitimate. Lastly, this work maps the various ways one fights against total institutions and target the instances in which abolition is seen as a useful strategy. In sum, I trace the costs and benefits of utilizing abolition as a strategy of resistance to incarceration, for the activists, for perceptions of them and their work in the public discourse and for their prospective goals. This research also attends to the various ways in which abolitionary practices are combined with others (such as reform efforts) and the social or political constraints that moved movements and activists from one strategy to the other in the winding road towards a non-carceral society. Genealogies of resistance to incarceration: Abolition politics within deinstitutionalization and anti-prison activism in the U.S. By Liat Ben-Moshe B.A. Tel Aviv University, 2000 Certificate of Advanced Study in Women and Gender Studies, Syracuse University, 2005 Certificate of Advanced Study in Disability Studies, Syracuse University, 2008 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Syracuse University December 2011 Copyright 2011 Liat Ben-Moshe All rights reserved. Acknowledgments No work happens in a vacuum and this one is no exception. I could have never done this research or even conceived of this topic without the amazing work of scholar/activists who were and are actively fighting against the tyranny of carceral edifices. Their relentless efforts not only inspired me to write this dissertation but also inspire my everyday life- the kind of person I want to be and the kind of world I want to be a part of. If nothing else, this work has made me even more committed to this struggle and also to the necessity of creating coalitions and bridges across social movements with similar aims, or in Minnie-Bruce Pratt‟s terms “shared horizons”. This work is dedicated to shared horizons of inclusion and a non-carceral society. In particular I would like to thank my committee members, who have guided me through this tenuous and exciting project. Steve Taylor acted not only as a wonderful and generous chair who read numerous reiterations of this manuscript; but also acted (unknowingly at times) as a great informant to the history and praxis of deinstitutionalization in developmental disabilities. Steve embodies for me the image of the scholar/activist who not only writes about social struggles but actively takes a stand when it matters the most. Without the work that he has done, and others in the Center on Human Policy before and with him, this project could not have existed simply because deinstitutionalization in the field of developmental disabilities would not have been as successful without their existence and relentless advocacy. It is the spirit of the Center on Human Policy (with its aging building, its informal and rich archive, and wonderful people –especially the extraordinary and always helpful Rachael Zubal- Ruggieri and Cyndy Colavita) that moved me through this project. I feel very fortunate that I was a part of this center and I will carry its essence with me wherever my future endeavors take me. vi Marj DeVault was the best academic advisor one could ask for. She was supportive and helped guide me along through tough patches when I thought this was too big of an undertaking or I was unsure where this is taking me in general. I knew that I could always come to her for a brief chat and emerge more confident in myself and the project. She also planted in me the seeds of feminist theory and feminist methodology that occasionally sprung throughout this project. Beth Ferri has influenced me to open up the field of disability studies to other critical perspectives, in particular feminist, queer and critical race theories and I have tried to carry this torch forward through this project. Minnie Bruce Pratt has taught me so much about the meaning of doing intersectional social justice work, and also about the price it carries (to oneself and the movements). It is that direction that I hope to take this research in future years, whether in the streets or academic conferences. Jackie Orr encouraged in me the love of theory and the ability to utter this sentence without being ashamed, the ability to conceive of theory as praxis and as a vehicle for social change. Thank you all, I could not have asked for better mentors and committee members. I would also like to thank numerous people from the prison abolition realm who have engaged with my work and enriched it tremendously. The numerous conversations I had with Angela Y. Davis made this research not only seem more meaningful but also helped me develop as a scholar/activist more generally. In the disability studies world we do not like to refer to people as “inspirational” but how else can I describe such a generous and thought provoking teacher and mentor. In addition to the conversations we had in person I often find myself thinking “what would Angela do or say” in a way that regardless of the answer ended up influencing the direction this research took. I also want to thank Anthony J. Nocella II and Jean Stewart who opened up to me many avenues of activism and scholarship in ways I could have vii not even imagined and who always insist in their own lives and work on intersectional practice on the way to a more just world.
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