Orphaned by Design: The Architecture of Abandonment, Relational Dispossession and the Suppression of Collective Action

• In Event: Reckoning with Ignorance: Mapping Authentic Arenas of Resistance

Abstract

Lifelong relationships form a strong foundation for collective action. This paper examines institutionalized abandonment (Wilson Gilmore, 2022) through the regulation of young people’s relationships in schools. I explore how formal and informal policies, everyday school practices, and hidden curricula impede, dislocate, or sever relational development between students and educators, other students, and their communities, producing intergenerational consequences. I introduce institutionalized orphanization as a form of organized abandonment, describing how structural, cultural, and organizational policies erode essential relational ties. These disconnections are embedded in broader economic and social institutions that both sustain and benefit from such fragmentation. Without deliberate efforts to build strong, interdependent communities, our capacity for sustained, collective social justice movements is significantly weakened. This paper seeks to foster dialogue on alternatives to these harmful practices.

Author

• Michelle Maher, Dr. Michelle Maher