Abolitionism as a Foundation for an Academic Department

• In Event: Roundtable: Teaching Penal Abolition

Abstract

The department of Crime and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth has made Abolitionism a required course for all students graduating from the program. The course fulfills the social movements component of the curriculum. Some faculty have also incorporated an abolitionist framework into courses ensuring that the abolitionist framework extends into, and is one of the foundations of, our overall curriculum. As professors from the department, we will discuss how this came about and the impact it has had on students. As a final assignment, students enrolled in Abolitionism have been tasked with imagining a commemoration and memorial being held 100 years after the last penal institution has been shut down. We will present some of the students’ works and discuss the importance of creative imagination in the process of teaching and pursuing abolition.

Authors

• Tammi Arford, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

• Viviane Saleh-Hanna, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth