This online course will explore the social justice road to abolition through Ruth Wilson Gilmore's work over three decades. The book presents "her singular contribution to the politics of abolition as theorist, researcher, and organizer" and offers ways to navigate the unsettling, chaotic, and lawless present. The American prison system has fallen predominantly on poor communities of color. The United States incarcerates more of its own than any other country in the world. Roughly 25% of the world’s total prison population is here in the United States, with over 2,500 inmates on death row, 2.3 million people behind bars, and 4.4 million people under some form of probation or parole supervision manifesting this country’s racialized mass incarceration, the prison industrial complex, and human rights catastrophe. Whether you're considering or have already embraced the role of an abolitionist, we invite you to join us this Fall 25 semester. We'll be reading and discussing the question of "Prison Abolition" through the text ABOLITION GEOGRAPHY: ESSAYS TOWARD LIBERATION and exploring that the prison is a symptom of the decline of civilization. This is a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions through the writings of the astute thinkers of punishment, policing, and abolition. People active in transformative justice and prison abolition movements will join us for a few sessions. This online course will meet on Mondays between 6:00 to 7:30 pm starting Monday, September 29th. Our last class is on Monday, November 10th (NO CLASS – Monday, October 13th / Indigenous Day). Please note that we will have two additional three hours each of in-person tutorial sessions. Lang College Civic Engagement and Social Justice, Prison Initiative Reading Group organized and initiated this course.

This online course will explore the social justice road to abolition through “the collection of diverse perspectives regarding how to respond to the crisis of mass incarceration – ranging from reform to abolition.” The book is edited by Premal Dharia, James Forman Jr., and Maria Hawilo. Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change is not prescribing solutions, but it is providing tools for action and a framework for making a just society against the vast machinery of the carceral state. The American prison system has fallen predominantly on poor communities of color. The United States incarcerates more of its own than any other country in the world. Roughly 25% of the world’s total prison population is here in the United States, with over 2,500 inmates on death row, 2.3 million people behind bars, and 4.4 million people under some form of probation or parole supervision manifesting this country’s racialized mass incarceration, the prison industrial complex, and human rights catastrophe. Whether you're considering or have already embraced the role of an abolitionist, we invite you to join us this Spring 25 semester. We'll be reading and discussing the question of "Prison Abolition" through the text DISMANTLING MASS INCARCERATION: A HANDBOOK FOR CHANGE. This is a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions through the writings of the astute thinkers of punishment, policing, and abolition. People active in transformative justice and prison abolition movements will join us for a few sessions. This online course will meet on Mondays between 6:00 to 7:30 pm starting Monday, February 10. Our last class is on Monday, March 31 (NO CLASS - February 17 and March 10). Please note that we will have two additional three hours each of in-person tutorial session. Lang College Civic Engagement and Social Justice, Prison Initiative Reading Group organized and initiated this course.