Course Requirements & Grading

Component	Weight
Final Paper (15-20 pages)	40%
Scaffolded Assignments (Topic Proposal + Annotated Bibliography)	30%
Presentations (Weeks 14-15)	15%
Participation & Discussion Prep	15%

Assignment Details

Topic Proposal (Due Friday, February 20)

Length: 2-3 pages | Weight: Part of 30% scaffolded assignments

Identify a specific carceral site, system, or problem you want to analyze. Explain why it interests you, which frameworks speak to it, and what you want to understand about it.

Annotated Bibliography (Due Friday, March 27)

Length: 8-12 sources with annotations | Weight: Part of 30% scaffolded assignments

Compile sources on your chosen problem. For each: provide full citation,a 3 sentence long annotation that covers the main argument, key evidence, and its relevance to your intervention.

Final Paper (Due Friday, May 8)

Length: 15-20 pages | Weight: 40%

Analyze a contemporary carceral problem through at least 3 theoretical frameworks from the course. Ground analysis in concrete evidence. Develop an original argument. Imagine an abolitionist intervention.

Discussion Question (Due weekly by 12:00 PM)

Format: Google Form | Weight: Part of 15% participation

Submit one discussion question based on the week’s reading.

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Topic Bank: Possible Carceral Sites & Problems

Students may choose from this list or propose their own (with instructor approval):

• Immigration detention (ICE detention, border cages, deportation)
• School discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline
• Psychiatric commitment and forced medication
• Surveillance technologies (facial recognition, gang databases, predictive policing)
• Digital incarceration (ankle monitors, location tracking)
• Fines, fees, and debt as punishment
• Addiction treatment and drug courts
• Gang violence prevention programs
• Solitary confinement
• Women’s prisons and carcerality
• Native American incarceration and Indian Country
• Bail and pre-trial detention

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Slides from In-Class Workshop

Step 2 - Idea Drafting

Step 3 - Finding Sources

• Wendy Belcher “Four Types of Secondary Research”

Step 4 - Annotating Bibliographic Sources

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