Doctoral Student Session and Luncheon: Perspectives on Abolition: Social Work's Role in and Response to the Abolitionist Movement [presented in person and live streamed]

The field of social work has historically been complicit with white supremacy, carceral institutions, and systems of punishment and control. In 2020 and 2021, social work students, practitioners, and researchers have grappled with the impact of carceral institutions on the lives of marginalized people in the United States and globally. Social work as a field has started to contend with its deep ties to systems of policing and control including within the child welfare, juvenile justice, criminal justice, and immigration systems. Some in the social work field have called for imagining alternatives to punishment, policing, regulation, and control, embracing abolitionist approaches to sociopolitical problems that promote people and communities’ flourishing. What is abolition?According to Angela Davis (2009), an abolitionist approach to sociopolitical problems would “require us to imagine a constellation of alternative strategies and institutions, with the ultimate aim of removing the prison from the social and ideological landscape of our society� (p.107). Others have extended Davis’ vision to include not only the abolition of prison as such, but also the abolition of other carceral and punitive institutions and logics embedded within our social, legal, and political systems. Abolition and Social WorkWe invited our panelists this year to reflect on the growing abolitionist orientation within the field of social work and the abolitionist movement in the US more broadly. We hope to contend with social work’s current and future role in this movement and glean insights on our collective path forward. Our panelists this year were chosen due to their research interests and dedication to students. Panelists include Dr. Reiko Boyd, Dr. Jodi Berger Cardoso, Dr. Mimi Kim, Dr. Jessica Pryce, Dr. Sophia Sarantakos.During the 60 minute panel, the DSC Chair will moderate a question and answer session with the panelists specifically focusing on the aforementioned theme. We will also include 15-20 minutes for doctoral students to participate.