Carceral Societies

ANT4127.01
Course System Home Terms Fall 2026 Carceral Societies

Course Description

Summary

How do prisons shape society? What socialities do carceral systems produce? What is revealed about societies through their practices of incarceration? Through key works in Black Studies, Anthropology, and Geography, we will explore these questions and more, considering the light that incarceration sheds on the study of society. In particular this seminar will examine the social worlds of incarceration; the development of carceral logics beyond the prison; as well as abolitionist visions and practices.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify scholarly claims, evidence and methods
  • Evaluate the relationship between scholarly claims, evidence and methods
  • Compare distinct disciplinary approaches to a concept or social process - that is, develop an interdisciplinary reading practice around a concept
  • Analyze the relationship between incarceration and society

Prerequisites

Please fill out this form (signed into your @bennington.edu account) to register your interest in the seminar, and to share your prior experience: https://forms.gle/bRQqibnMVb3FVCwv9

Cross List

  • Advancement of Public Action
  • Black Studies
  • Sociology

Instructor

  • Marios Falaris

Day and Time

TU 2:10pm-5:50pm

Delivery Method

Fully in-person

Length of Course

Full Term

Academic Term

Fall 2026

Credits

4

Course Level

4000

Maximum Enrollment

16

Course Frequency

Every 2-3 years