Carceral Citizens
A nuanced take on how carceral expansions are changing labor and social life. In Carceral Citizens, anthropologist Caroline M. Parker offers an ethnographic portrait of therapeutic communities in Puerto Rico, the oldest colony in the Americas. As nonprofits nested within the carceral state, th...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2025
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| Online Access: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98542 |
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| _version_ | 1869526802081251328 |
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| author | Parker, Caroline M. |
| author_browse | Parker, Caroline M. |
| author_facet | Parker, Caroline M. |
| author_sort | Parker, Caroline M. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | A nuanced take on how carceral expansions are changing labor and social life.
In Carceral Citizens, anthropologist Caroline M. Parker offers an ethnographic portrait of therapeutic communities in Puerto Rico, the oldest colony in the Americas. As nonprofits nested within the carceral state, therapeutic communities serve as reeducation and recovery centers for the mostly male drug offenders who serve out their sentences engaged in manual labor and prayer. The most surprising aspect of these centers, however, is that their “graduates” often remain long after the completion of their term, working as self-appointed peer counselors in a mixture of volunteer and low-wage positions.
Parker seeks to explain this dynamic by showing how, in these therapeutic communities, criminalized men find new and meaningful ways of living in the shadow of the prison. Through their participation in the day-to-day functioning of the centers, they discover and cultivate alternative forms of belonging, livelihood, and citizenship, despite living within the restrictions of the carceral state. Situating her study against the backdrop of Puerto Rico’s colonial history, and with findings that extend across Latin America, Parker challenges common assumptions about confinement, labor, and rehabilitation. By delving into lives shaped by the convergence of imperialism, the carceral state, and self-help, she offers a fresh understanding of the transformations of labor and social life brought about by mass incarceration. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-152014 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| publisherStr | University of Chicago Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1520142025-07-21T15:44:44Z Carceral Citizens Parker, Caroline M. Carceral Citizenship, Incarceration, Puerto Rico, Drug Rehabilitation, Self-help thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment A nuanced take on how carceral expansions are changing labor and social life. In Carceral Citizens, anthropologist Caroline M. Parker offers an ethnographic portrait of therapeutic communities in Puerto Rico, the oldest colony in the Americas. As nonprofits nested within the carceral state, therapeutic communities serve as reeducation and recovery centers for the mostly male drug offenders who serve out their sentences engaged in manual labor and prayer. The most surprising aspect of these centers, however, is that their “graduates” often remain long after the completion of their term, working as self-appointed peer counselors in a mixture of volunteer and low-wage positions. Parker seeks to explain this dynamic by showing how, in these therapeutic communities, criminalized men find new and meaningful ways of living in the shadow of the prison. Through their participation in the day-to-day functioning of the centers, they discover and cultivate alternative forms of belonging, livelihood, and citizenship, despite living within the restrictions of the carceral state. Situating her study against the backdrop of Puerto Rico’s colonial history, and with findings that extend across Latin America, Parker challenges common assumptions about confinement, labor, and rehabilitation. By delving into lives shaped by the convergence of imperialism, the carceral state, and self-help, she offers a fresh understanding of the transformations of labor and social life brought about by mass incarceration. 2025-02-17T05:30:58Z 2025-02-17T05:30:58Z 2025-02-13T10:23:44Z 2024 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98542 9780226836218 9780226836232 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/152014 eng open access image/png Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/98542/2/9780226836225.epub University of Chicago Press 10.7208/chicago/9780226836225.001.0001 10.7208/chicago/9780226836225.001.0001 decd55ad-cee8-4380-ad0e-0ead8a496f4d 9780226836218 9780226836232 209 open access |
| spellingShingle | Carceral Citizenship, Incarceration, Puerto Rico, Drug Rehabilitation, Self-help thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment Parker, Caroline M. Carceral Citizens |
| title | Carceral Citizens |
| title_full | Carceral Citizens |
| title_fullStr | Carceral Citizens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carceral Citizens |
| title_short | Carceral Citizens |
| title_sort | carceral citizens |
| topic | Carceral Citizenship, Incarceration, Puerto Rico, Drug Rehabilitation, Self-help thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment |
| topic_facet | Carceral Citizenship, Incarceration, Puerto Rico, Drug Rehabilitation, Self-help thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKV Crime and criminology::JKVP Penology and punishment |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98542 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT parkercarolinem carceralcitizens |