This has been long in coming and might have the feel of rant. It is not.

Over the past 8 month that I have been writing this blog, I’ve received numerous e-mails requesting that I put together a list of readings that I would suggest for someone who wanted to learn about mass/hyper-incarceration. I responded to one particular young woman’s request some months ago by putting together a list of what I think are some essential readings for students of mass incarceration. Well, you might think that people would get off my back after that :). You would be wrong.

Every couple of weeks, I get at least one e-mail from someone who chastises me for the fact that books are expensive and also accuses me of basically being at best an elitist or at worst a tool of THE MAN. While it is very true that I spent an inordinate amount of time in school, it is also true that I have devoted most of my life to making information and knowledge accessible to as many people as possible. This is why fostering popular education in a variety of spaces is such a passion of mine.

One particularly irate person wrote an e-mail using mostly CAPITAL LETTERS to tell me that college students are not the only ones who need an understanding of the PIC. I could go on and on about this point but will spare you the pain… Here’s the important fact though, while I have gotten annoying e-mails from some jerks, I have also been getting lovely ones from other people who have been really nice about asking that I provide a list of articles or essays instead of books.

Because of the jerks, I have resisted providing such a list since when people get on my nerves I never give in to their demands of me. Yet I did want to be responsive to the nice people. So I made a deal with myself; I would provide a list based solely on articles or essays that I already had copies of on my computer or could find online. This way I could fulfill the requests of the kind people while not feeling like I have gone out of my way to satisfy the demands of the jackasses. Additionally, I have limited the list to only six articles/essays and made sure to provide the full readings for downloading [one has to guard against being called a tool of the man after all!]. I will no doubt get criticism from someone who will tell me that it is expensive to print out pages… There is no way to win.

So for my decent and respectful readers, here is a list of some useful articles and essays for better understanding mass/hyper-incarceration. Please keep in mind that this list is severely limited by the fact that I only included pieces that I already had access to or could find copies of online. In addition, I only included articles or essays that provide a theoretical basis for understanding mass incarceration. Still I think that the list is a good start for those who want an introductory survey of mass incarceration (without reading any books).

Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex by Angela Davis

Racialized Punishment and Prison Abolition by Angela Davis

The New Jim Crow “Introduction” by Michelle Alexander

The Racialization of Crime and Punishment: Criminal Justice, Color-Blind Racism, and the Political Economy of the Prison Industrial Complex by Rose Brewer and Nancy Heitzeg

The New ‘Peculiar Institution’: On the Prison as Surrogate Ghetto by Loic Wacquant

Globalisation and US prison growth: from military Keynesianism to post-Keynesian militarism by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

P.S. Please do not write to me to point out that there are no articles about this or that topic (I really mean it…resist the urge). The list is by no means exhaustive and is not intended to be. I hope that others will take the time to put together a list of the definitive texts about mass incarceration (yes I am looking at you Jules :)).