This House Would Abolish Prisons: Theories of Power and Control

In this episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary sit down with Lauren Sayers and Rosie Freeman after the debate: This House Would Abolish Prisons, held by Gender Agenda, the University of Cambridge’s largest feminist collective.

In our first episode out in the field (breaking free from the recording studio), we are joined by two fellow Human, Social, and Political Science students to discuss abolitionism, crime, and systems of power and oppression. We move beyond the prison system to discuss theorists like Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Max Weber to explore the ways power and surveillance can be theorised in society. We apply these theories to our lives to examine how relationships and institutions are impacted by systems of power and control. What do we gain from understanding these topics? What is the benefit of social critique?

If you are interested in our discussion, consider reading:

The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan

Experiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola Olufemi

The New Spirit of Capitalism by Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello

Decolonial Feminism in Anya Yala: Caribbean, Meso, and Southern American Contributions and Challenges by Espinosa, Lugones and Maldonado Torres - particularly the chapter by Iris Hernandez Morales

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