“Walls are put up when curiosity ends”: Transformative Education in the Canadian Carceral Context

Prison education is often cited as the only redeeming experience in an otherwise cruel environment. While educational programs are found in prisons across Canada, they are often guided by philosophies of punishment, risk, and security rather than more transformative frameworks. In addition to prison staff and management who struggle to find value in education for education’s sake, the physical spaces in which learning takes place in prison also interfere with efforts at promoting agency and autonomy amongst incarcerated students. In this paper, we conceptualize the prison classroom as a performative space and demonstrate ways in which prison classrooms can become critical public spheres. We review theoretical literature on performative space, specifically in relation to prison education classrooms. We then examine the dynamics of: (1) navigating institutional policies and practices when teaching inside carceral spaces; and (2) the constraints that structure the carceral classroom. Finally, we take up the program Walls to Bridges as a case study example to demonstrate these findings and the transformative power of prison education

Stories Matter: Reaffirming the Value of Qualitative Research

While the social sciences are experiencing narrative and emotional turns that are largely based on exploratory and theoretical qualitative research, the problematic dismissal of qualitative research approaches continues to loom large outside academia. Frequently described as a collection of “anecdotal stories,” qualitative research is dismissed as unscientific and unreliable— comments that limit the perceived usefulness of qualitative findings, especially in terms of policy reform. This article problematizes evaluating qualitative research according to quantitative measures of rigour and explores the richness and value of documenting experiential stories and the process of storying in social science research. Notably, we take up the issues of criminal record suspension (pardons) and the abolition of carceral segregation as two case studies to demonstrate how the qualitative value of experiential research and personal stories are simultaneously mobilized and rejected by key actors such as politicians, government researchers, and judges. Our analysis highlights the power that stories have when it comes to influencing change within the criminal justice system, depending on who takes up/rejects these stories. We conclude with a discussion of why stories matter and how, when “layered,” they can contribute to the production of meaningful interventions to the ongoing criminalization and punishment of vulnerable people

Criminal Code reform of HIV non disclosure is urgently needed : Social science perspectives on the harms of HIV criminalization in Canada

The criminalization of HIV non-disclosure represents a significant issue of concern among people living with HIV, those working across the HIV sector, public health practitioners, and health and human rights advocates around the world. Recently, the government of Canada began a review of the criminal law regarding HIV non-disclosure and invited feedback from the public about potential reforms to the Criminal Code. In light of this public consultation, this commentary examines social science research from Canadian scholars that documents the intersecting damaging effects of HIV criminalization. Canadian social scientists and other researchers have shown that HIV criminalization is applied in uneven and discriminatory ways, impedes HIV prevention efforts, perpetuates HIV stigma, and has a damaging impact on the daily lives of people living with HIV. We argue that there is an urgent need for reforms that will significantly restrict how the criminal law is applied to HIV non-disclosure

Opsonic phagocytosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is enhanced by Nrf2 agonists

Rationale: Previous studies have identified defects in bacterial phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages (AM) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but the mechanisms and clinical consequences remain incompletely defined. Objectives: To examine the effect of COPD on AM phagocytic responses and identify the mechanisms, clinical consequences and potential for therapeutic manipulation of these defects. Methods: We isolated alveolar macrophages (AM) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) from a cohort of COPD patients and controls within the MRC COPD-MAP consortium and measured phagocytosis of bacteria in relation to opsonic conditions and clinical features. Measurements and Main Results: COPD AM and MDM have impaired phagocytosis of S. pneumoniae. COPD AM have a selective defect in uptake of opsonized bacteria, despite the presence of anti-pneumococcal antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage, not observed in MDM or healthy donor’s AM. AM defects in phagocytosis in COPD are significantly associated with exacerbation frequency, isolation of pathogenic bacteria and health related quality of life scores. Bacterial binding and initial intracellular killing of opsonized bacteria in COPD AM was not reduced. COPD AM have reduced transcriptional responses to opsonized bacteria, including cellular stress responses that include transcriptional modules involving antioxidant defenses and Nrf2-regualted genes. Agonists of the cytoprotective transcription factor Nrf2 (sulforaphane and Compound) reverse defects in phagocytosis of S. pneumoniae and non-type able Haemophilus influenzae by COPD. Conclusions: Patients with COPD have clinically relevant defects in opsonic phagocytosis by AM, associated with impaired transcriptional responses to cellular stress, which are reversed by therapeutic targeting with Nrf2 agonists

Resisting confined identities: Women’s strategies of coping in prison

This study analyzes the self-injurious behaviours that women in prison adopt as coping strategies, the ‘psy’/medical practices and policies that govern such behaviours, and constructions of prisoner identity. Correctional officials and feminists have been aware of self-injurious behaviour among women prisoners since the 1970s, but little Canadian research on the topic has been conducted to date. By centring self-harming behaviours a nd examining the experiences of both federally and provincially sentenced women, this dissertation contributes to feminist and criminological knowledge. Findings are based on twenty-six in-depth interviews with ex-prisoners and social workers who work with at risk and criminalised women. An integrated theoretical framework that links citizenship and identity literatures with feminist critiques of ‘pathologisation’ is used to track the relationships between several dichotomies, including constructions of fixed/fluid identity and choice/disease models of addiction. Adopting a feminist lens allowed me to centre the voices of my participants while conducting a critical discourse analysis of their narratives. This research produced two important findings among others. First, criminalised women have a broader conception of self-injurious behaviour than do most researchers and correctional authorities. Participants discussed not only cutting, but also disordered eating, and su bstance use (illicit and licit) as forms of self-harm they inv oked to express their emotions and cope with life stress. Second, classical and positivist languages co-exist in prisoner as well as correctional discourse. For example, some women used positivist descriptions of their addictions to generate distance between constructions of selfhood that reflect negative components of their identities. The women’s use of classical and positivist discourses often reflected their feelings of empowerment and their ability to resist carceral control strategies or, alternatively, a sense of powerlessness to their addiction, their imprisonment, and even their roles as mothers. Policy responses to self-harming behaviours were relegated to threats for or immediate removal to segregation. While the women viewed segregation as punishment for harming themselves, correctional authorities reconstructed self-harming behaviours as threats to institutional security. This study also highlights the incongruity between correctional officials’ responses to licit versus illicit substance use and the problematic over-prescription and medicalisation of women in prison

Violence politique, insécurité et résistance : le cas des femmes honduriennes après le coup d’État de 2009

Le présent article s’appuie sur une enquête qualitative qui porte sur les expériences de 48 femmes honduriennes à la suite du coup d’État qui a frappé leur pays le 28 juin 2009. Il souligne en particulier leurs expériences de la répression étatique et de la résistance citoyenne. C’est donc dans le contexte d’une insécurité humaine nourrie par la violence d’État que les circonstances qui ont entouré la vie de ces femmes après le coup d’État seront explorées. Les témoignages de celles-ci sur la violence politique ont attiré l’attention sur les conséquences multiples et insidieuses du coup d’État. Ils ont aussi montré que ces femmes avaient des ressources qui leur étaient propres pour s’engager dans des tactiques de résistance en vue de lutter contre les dommages causés par l’État. La conclusion rappelle l’intérêt de la recherche en cours sur le coup d’État et les droits des femmes honduriennes.Through the use of qualitative survey data, this article examines the experiences of state-based repression and citizen-based resistance among 48 Honduran women in the aftermath of the coup d’État that occurred on June 28, 2009. The women’s post-coup circumstances are explored within the context of state harms and human insecurities. The women’s testimonies of political violence have drawn attention to the multiple and insidious consequences of the coup d’État and they have also demonstrated their own capacities to engage in resistance tactics that contest state-based harms. The conclusion reflects on the potential of ongoing inquiry into the coup d’État and Honduran women’s rights.Mediante el uso de datos cualitativos este artículo analiza las experiencias de represión estatal y resistencia ciudadana entre 48 mujeres hondureñas en el clima posterior al golpe de Estado del 28 de junio de 2009. Se analizan las circunstancias de las mujeres luego de dicho golpe en el contexto de la seguridad humana y los daños y perjuicios causados por el Estado. Los testimonios de las mujeres sobre violencia política han llamado la atención respecto de las múltiples e insidiosas consecuencias del golpe de Estado, al tiempo que han demostrado sus propias capacidades de participación en tácticas de resistencia en respuesta a los daños y perjuicios causados por el Estado. La conclusión analiza el potencial de la investigación en curso sobre el golpe de Estado y los derechos de las mujeres hondureñas

VII. Transcarceration and the Production of “Grey space”: How Frontline Workers exercise spatial Practices in a Halfway House for Women

INTRODUCTION Critical studies of criminal justice networks have established that community correctional institutions, such as halfway houses, contribute to the expansion of the carceral net, an effect that has been conceptualized as “transcarceration” (see Lowman, Menzies, and Palys 1987; and Maidment 2006a). Contractual, professional and social relationships linking halfway houses, and medical and social work institutions, to corrections form transcarceral bonds, which are primarily facilita..

« Vous étiez soulagé, mais en même temps terrifié » : explorer les géographies émotionnelles des admissions et des libérations dans les prisons fédérales canadiennes

Pour la plupart des personnes détenues sous responsabilité fédérale, la zone d’admission et libération (AL) est la première étape lors de l’arrivée dans un pénitencier au Canada. De nombreuses personnes entrent dans l’aire d’admission et de libération avec des sentiments partagés de peur, d’anxiété et d’anticipation, et se traduisant par de puissants souvenirs émotionnels de cet environnement. À travers des données qualitatives recueillies lors de 57 entretiens semi-structurés auprès de personnes ayant purgé une peine de ressort fédéral, nous explorons les géographies émotionnelles de l’AL telles qu’elles sont vécues par les participants. Notre analyse se focalise sur les expériences des participants dans les aires AL des établissements Millhaven à Bath et Grand Valley à Kitchener – deux pénitenciers en Ontario à sécurité maximale, pour hommes (Millhaven) et pour femmes (Grand Valley). Nous mettons en lumière comment les espaces AL façonnent les premières expériences d’incarcération des individus, pour le meilleur ou pour le pire. Plus précisément, nous soutenons que les espaces AL, et notamment les procédures d’admission ayant lieu dans ces espaces, correspondent à une « cérémonie de dégradation du statut » selon l’appellation de Garfinkel (1956), dont le but n’est pas seulement d’humilier la personne criminalisée, mais aussi de reconstituer son identité en tant qu’être inférieur. En effet, alors que le processus d’admission reproduit activement une cérémonie de dégradation du statut, transformant le citoyen libre en un sujet criminalisé, nous soutenons que le processus de libération ne rétablit pas entièrement son identité ou son statut, et que la stigmatisation persiste tel un fardeau émotionnel.For most federally incarcerated individuals in Canada, Admissions and Discharge (A&D) represents their first stop upon arriving at a penitentiary. Many people step into A&D experiencing feelings of fear, anxiety and anticipation, which result in powerful emotional memories of the space. Using qualitative data gleaned from 57 semi-structured interviews conducted with formerly federally incarcerated individuals, we explore the emotional geographies of A&D. To concentrate our discussion, we focus our analytic attention on participants’ experiences of A&D spaces at Millhaven Institution and Grand Valley Institution–maximum security penitentiaries for men and women, respectively. We contend that A&D spaces, as well as the intake processes they facilitate, fulfil the conditions of what Garfinkel (1956) refers to as a status degradation ceremony, the purpose of which is not only to shame a criminalized person, but also to reconstitute their identity as a lesser being. Additionally, while the admissions process actively reproduces a status degradation ceremony that transforms the free citizen into a criminalized subject, we argue that the discharge process does not wholly reinstate one’s identity or status upon release, at which time stigmatization lingers as an emotional burden.Para la mayoría de los presos federales canadienses, la primera parada al llegar a un centro penitenciario es Admisiones y Altas. Muchas personas entran en Admisiones y Altas -o AA- con sentimientos de miedo, ansiedad y expectación, lo que da lugar a fuertes recuerdos emocionales de este espacio. A partir de los datos cualitativos recogidos en 57 entrevistas semiestructuradas con antiguos presos federales, exploramos las geografías emocionales de AA. Para acotar nuestro debate, centramos nuestra atención analítica en las experiencias de los participantes de los espacios de AA en Millhaven Institution y Grand Valley Institution, centros penitenciarios de máxima seguridad para hombres y mujeres respectivamente. Sostenemos que los espacios AA, y los procesos de admisión que estos espacios facilitan, cumplen las condiciones de lo que Garfinkel (1956) denomina una ceremonia de degradación del estatus, cuyo propósito no es sólo avergonzar a una persona criminalizada, sino también reconstituir su identidad como un ser inferior. De hecho, aunque el proceso de admisión reproduce activamente una ceremonia de degradación del estatus que transforma al ciudadano libre en un sujeto criminalizado, sostenemos que el proceso de excarcelación no restablece totalmente la identidad o el estatus de la persona tras su puesta en libertad, donde la estigmatización persiste como una carga emocional