Teaching Abolition Materials

Overview

This page is organized around three overarching strategies that I use in my teaching to facilitate learning around topics that challenge deeply held assumptions and investments in violent institutions, such as the carceral state. Below each strategy is a list of supporting sample materials that I use. All of the below linked materials are also accessible through this Google Drive folder.

I have only been able to develop these materials thanks to the work of numerous abolitionist organizers and scholars who I am indebted to. These materials are currently and forever a work in progress, so I would love to hear strategies of how others approach teaching abolition or similar topics in the classroom and continue to collaboratively build out these materials (contact me).

I am grateful for early feedback on these materials provided at the 2023 UW Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium Conference and by my fellow panelists of, “Phoenix Rising: Cultivating Intersectional Feminism in Northeast Wisconsin.”

1. Deep engagement with learning materials

Sample materials:

2. Critical thinking as a learning objective and theoretical framework

Sample materials:

3. Discussion and community-building skill development

Sample materials:

Something that crosscuts all of these strategies: check-ins with students, especially students who may be especially impacted by topics we’re covering in the class (e.g., pre/mid/end-semester surveys, post-discussion self-assessments, and follow-ups).