Lecture: The Impact of the Carceral State on Citizenship and Citizens' Sense of the State
Professor Vesla Weaver of the University of Virginia will present a talk entitled "The Impact of the Carceral State on Citizenship and Citizens' Sense of the State."
From Professor Weaver:
Contact with the criminal justice system is greater today than at any time in our history. While only three percent of the population is under correctional supervision, those who will experience the carceral state at some point in their lives is much higher at fifteen percent of the population, making veterans of prison more numerous than veterans of military duty at eight percent of the population in 2006. However, we know little about the impact of the carceral state on citizens' experience of government. Using three surveys with adequate measures of both disciplinary encounters and political perceptions, I conduct the first systematic exploration of how criminal justice involvement shapes the citizenship, political capital, and political voice of current and former offenders and affects later patterns of participation and civic engagement. My findings suggest that custodial populations occupy a civic underclass - a growing group that is both estranged from political life and that simultaneously holds negative views of government, with serious implications for the practice and meaning of citizenship and political inclusion. Additionally, it provides important insights into how citizens learn about politics and what they learn, how policy shapes citizens experience of government, and ultimately how the growing carceral state affects American politics.