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University of California Press

About the Book

This book issues a powerful call to action: queer justice requires the abolition of the prison industrial complex. Bringing together historical, empirical, pedagogical, and personal essays that welcome readers into the complex and hopeful work of abolition, this collective project highlights a range of anticarceral resistance work. Intersectional and actionable by design, Abolition and Queer Justice features the voices of scholars and activists from across queer criminology and invites students, scholars, and activists to join together to advance truly transformative goals.

About the Author

Allyn Walker is Assistant Professor of Criminology at Saint Mary's University in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and author of A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity.
 
Aimee Wodda is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Law and Society at Pacific University and coauthor of Sex-Positive Criminology.


 

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: Envisioning Queer Justice Allyn Walker and Aimee Wodda

PART ONE. SEEDS OF CHANGE: NURTURING OUR ABOLITIONIST GROWTH

1. From the Hood to Queer Scholar: How I Became a Police Abolitionist Susana Avalos
2. Growing Up an Abolitionist Rosa Squillacote
3. “So, You Like the Police, Huh?” Alessandra Milagros Early
4. Queer Criminologists’ Pathways to Abolition: A Québécois Autoethnography Alexis Marcoux Rouleau, Karl Beaulieu, and Catherine Therrien
5. A Radical Vision for Prison Abolition Jennifer M. Ortiz

PART TWO. ROOTS OF OPPRESSION: UNEARTHING QUEER CRIMINALIZATION

6. Dismembering the Powermonger: A BlaQueer Feminist Approach to Abolition Toniqua C. Mikell 
7. “At Any Given Point in Your Life, You Can Be Wrong about Everything”: Queer and Trans Perspectives, Community Care, and the Abolitionist Imagination Max Osborn
8. Queer against the Law Amanda M. Petersen
9. (Un)DocuQueer: Trapped within Bodies, Borders, and Systems Karen Z. Armenta Rojas
10. A Conversation on the Criminalization of Queer People, Abolition Feminism, and Resisting Carceral Harms around Child Sexual Abuse jenani devi, Monica Ramsy, and Alison Reba

PART THREE. BRANCHES OF PROGRESS: REACHING FOR QUEER JUSTICE IN CRIMINOLOGY

11. Critiquing Criminology: Toward an Abolitionist-Centered Pedagogy and Discipline 187 Candice Crutchfield
12. From Prison to Police Abolition: Challenging Queer Criminology’s Investments in the Police 200 Emma K. Russell
13. “Queer” Means Centering Criminalized Survivors: Lessons from Abolition Feminism 214 ash stephens and Jane Hereth
14. Toward a Pedagogy of Possibility: On Abolitionist Teaching 227 Ihsan Al-Zouabi

Bibliography
Contributors
Index 
 

Reviews

"Abolition and Queer Justice provides an essential theoretical and empirical intervention from a diverse group of scholars challenging some of the central tenets of mainstream criminology. If we are serious about creating real justice and safety, we must integrate these experiences and ideas into our theoretical frameworks, methods, and research objectives."—Alex S. Vitale, author of The End of Policing

"In this groundbreaking volume, Allyn Walker and Aimee Wodda bring together a dynamic team of scholars who skillfully unpack abolition through critical narratives, theorizing, and research. Utilizing a queer lens, this book offers chapters for folks across the abolition spectrum—from those who are just learning about it to those who are starting to embrace it to those who are avidly fighting for it. There is no doubt that Abolition and Queer Justice will become a go-to resource for students, scholars, and activists."—Emily Lenning, coauthor of Queer Criminology

"An outstanding contribution. Grounded in the rigorous scholarship and well-examined lived experiences of a diverse array of academics, organizers, and students, this book's exploration of pressing issues surrounding abolition will encourage meaningful debate and discussion in and outside of the classroom."—Christina DeJong, Emeritus Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University