Symposium Keynote: Jackie Wang

Black studies scholar, prison abolitionist, poet, performer, and PhD student at Harvard University Jackie Wang will deliver the keynote at this year's Symposium on Social Justice and Inclusion.

Wang’s address, titled “Carceral Capitalism and Abolitionist Poetry,” will examine the relationship between prison abolition and social imagination. A student of the dream state, Wang will use dreams to explore these issues free from present reality’s oppressive status quo. Wang explains that her poetry “seeks to shatter the racial capitalist order and the captivity of bodies and minds.”

Jackie Wang is the author of the acclaimed Carceral Capitalism (MIT Press), in which she examines contemporary incarceration techniques and illustrates various aspects of the carceral continuum, including the biopolitics of juvenile delinquency, predatory and algorithmic policing, athe political economy of fees and fines, and cybernetic governance. 

“We are excited to be bringing Jackie Wang to Simon's Rock and Great Barrington,” says Nancy Bonvillain, a Simon’s Rock professor and organizer of the Symposium. “Wang inspires a sense of purpose and a vision for a better world.”

This year, the Symposium will focus on understanding how all citizens can find and use their voices to find solidarity and build coalitions. In the last few years, several groups and movements have emerged that, although initially focused on specific issues, became increasingly intersectional in their interests, membership, and goals. Symposium events will explore ways of speaking up about issues related to being marginalized, undervalued, and silenced, and how to use power and privilege to support social justice movements. The events and workshops scheduled for Symposium Week will encourage participants to question their realities and realize their ability to engage in work that fosters social justice and equity.

This event is free and open to the public.