This course is previously taught as ANTH 478 Anthropology of Institutions. It’s recommended not to take ANTH 479B if you have taken ANTH 478 before.
The United States is mandated by law to care for the basic needs of the people it incarcerates in prisons and jails. However, prisons and jails are not designed to care but to control and discipline. In this course, through critical analyses and insights from prison abolition and medical anthropology, we examine what care constitutes in the carceral state, how incarcerated individuals, staff, and healthcare workers navigate healthcare in prisons and jails, and why prisons and jails remain tenacious in the United States despite their serious shortcomings. We will read books on prison abolition, psychiatry in supermax prisons, and reproductive healthcare in jails. This is an in person class and students are expected to contribute to conversations in class. The content of this course is rough and may trigger strong psychological responses and emotions.