THE EVOLVING CARCERAL LANDSCAPE IN AMERICA

APRIL 10-11, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

The United States was founded as a police state, and has built up its prisons and policing systems over centuries in order to maintain state power and control. However, in recent years, we have seen a rapidly changing and growing carceral state take center stage in American life. From surges in immigration detention and policing by ICE, to the evolution of surveillance technology fueled by AI and social media, to the rollbacks of basic protections of the rule of law, the ground is shifting under us as we try to build a legal system that centers justice and dignity. Simultaneously, decades- and centuries-old injustices continue to fester, devastating the lives of people across the country.

This conference will gather students and scholars from Princeton and other institutions, activists and community organizers, local community members, and justice-impacted individuals to take stock of the current carceral landscape and the struggle to heal its wounds. What has changed in the 2020s, and how are those changes being lived within communities? What new threats to community safety must we combat, and what structural inequalities are yet to be dismantled? And how can we work together to imagine and build a system of genuine justice, on the shaky foundations of our current landscape?

Students for Prison Education, Abolition, and Reform (SPEAR) is thrilled to bring back our annual conference after seven years of hiatus. We hope that this weekend will be an opportunity for learning, reflection, community building, and calls to action, as we continue in our mission of educating, advocating, and agitating against the carceral state.

SPEAR is immensely grateful for the sponsorship and support of USG Projects Board, the Department of African American Studies, the Center for Transnational Policing, the Effron Center for the Study of America, and Princeton Progressives.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

SATURDAY, APRIL 11

LOCATION + PARKING MAP

Logistical Information

With any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to SPEAR co-presidents Kristin Nagy (kristinnagy@princeton.edu) and Ila Prabhuram (ila.prabhuram@princeton.edu).