125 Results
Former Prisons and the Power of Place
Jul 29 2026
Author Michael Welch discusses the Bastille Effect, or the unique ways that former prisons and detention centers are transformed, both physically and culturally.
The Cultural History of Prisons
Jun 23 2026
Author Michael Welch on how he discovered the "pull of punishment," by which visitors are drawn into the cultural history of prisons, unfolding at former prisons.
Learning from the History of Rape Kit Protocols
May 22 2026
Author Jaimie Morse on how the history of rape kit protocols raises questions of epistemology, representation, and social justice in anti-rape activism in medicine.
Societies Contoured Along Penal Power
May 22 2026
Author Michael Welch presents an excerpt from his new book about the enduring meaning of containment and surveillance in post-conflict societies.
Q&A with Benjamin R. Weiss, author of "The Price of Justice"
May 21 2026
Author Benjamin R. Weiss on whether civil lawsuits are actually effective for victims of sexual violence.
How Prisons Manage Gender Boundaries—and How That’s Changed Over Time
May 20 2026
Author Joss T. Greene traces how changing prison systems have shaped the treatment of transgender prisoners across decades.
Courts at Their Best – and Worst
Nov 11 2025
Judges can give us hope despite the deeply flawed among them.
Imagining a Future Built on Abolition and Queer Justice
Nov 06 2025
How to fight for queer justice in a time of continued criminalization and targeted attacks on queer communities.
"California History" Announces the 2024 Winner of the Richard J. Orsi Prize
Aug 06 2025
Congratulations to Erica Toffoli whose article “Electric Eyes: Surveillance, Sovereignty, and the Limits of the Border Patrol’s Technocratic Vision on the U.S.-Mexico Line” has won this year's Orsi Prize, which recognizes the best research essay published in the journal "California History" each year.
Q&A with Isak Ladegaard, author of “Open Secrecy”
Aug 05 2025
Author Isak Ladegaard on how large, shadowy groups undermine state control and present new capacities for collective action.