Politics of Mass Incarceration

Catalog description

This course explores how political actors (e.g., politicians, special interests, courts, and the electorate) have shaped the legal framework leading the United States to become an incarceration nation. Course topics include analyzing how political rhetoric on crime and incarceration influence public opinion and policy; examining public law related to the policing, surveillance, and the rights of the criminally accused; and assessing various policy recommendations on criminal justice reform. Central to this investigation, students examine the political ramifications of mass incarceration through the intersections of race, class, and gender. Offered Alternate Years.