Key Concepts in Mass Incarceration and Colonialism

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts relating to mass incarceration, colonialism, and social constructs of race derived from the lecture notes.

Mass incarceration

Rate of imprisonment marked above the historical and comparative norm for a given society.

COMPSTAT

A police management practice using statistics to identify hotspots of crime to direct law enforcement.

Colonialism

Centered on conquest acquisition, and shaping of space, place, and people.

State power

The authority of the government to control society, including laws, policing, courts, and punishment.

Knowledge production

Methods by which truths are asserted and spread; integral to colonial conquest.

Premature death

Organized early deaths of People of Color (POCs), especially black Americans, by the criminal justice system.

White supremacy

Larger structural practices by which whiteness as a system of lived advantage and privilege is reproduced.

Carnival mirror of crime

The distortion of perception of crime, magnifying the threat of street crime while minimizing other harms.

Papal bulls

An order or decree of the church, similar to a law or regulation defining a new state policy.

Missions

Religious establishments in colonized lands that facilitated colonial authority.

Valladolid debate

A debate on whether indigenous peoples belonged in the human category; first on colonialism and human rights.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership and the accumulation of resources.

Racial capitalism

Process of deriving social and economic value from the racial identity of another person.

Hegemony

Process in which beliefs supporting the status quo are instilled in the population as 'common sense'.

Productive use justification

Idea used by colonizers to claim land by arguing it must be used productively for value.

Colony

A territory settled and ruled by people from another place.

Classical vs settler colonialism

Classical: exploitation without settlement; Settler: replacement of indigenous populations.

One-drop rule

Any amount of Black ancestry classifies an individual as Black, enforcing white supremacy.

Blood quantum

Defines Native identity by percentage of Indigenous ancestry, limiting populations and rights.

Warmth vs Competence

Stereotype theory contrasting warmth (trustworthiness) and competence (intelligence) of groups.

Exclusion

Keeping groups out of resources/opportunities like housing, jobs, and rights.

Exploitation

Using a group’s labor/resources for benefit, key in colonial and racial systems.

Realistic vs Symbolic threats

Realistic: economic/physical threats; Symbolic: values/culture threats.

Positivism

Knowledge must be scientifically verified and based on observation.

Scientific racism

Using 'science' to justify racial hierarchy and inequality.

Racial naturalism vs racial historicism

Naturalism: race as fixed; Historicism: race develops over time.

Polygenism vs Monogenism

Polygenism: different races have separate origins; Monogenism: all humans share one origin.

Deviance

Behaviors that violate social norms, often linked to crime.

Social determination

Behavior shaped by social conditions, not just biology.

Atavism

Idea that criminals are evolutionary throwbacks (primitive humans).

Stigmata

Physical features believed to indicate criminality used to identify criminals in early criminology.

Eugenics

Belief that society can be improved by controlling reproduction.

Legal vs Extralegal factors (CJS)

Legal factors: direct evidence; Extralegal factors: race, class, gender influence outcomes.

Settler colonial hegemony

Dominant narrative of U.S. history omitting genocide, slavery, land theft, and racial violence.

Cultural bomb

Destruction of a people's culture, identity, and history, leading to self-doubt among colonized groups.

Importance of heritage of struggle

History of resistance that shows oppression can be challenged.

Massey’s 4 ideal types (racial stratification)

Exploitation, Exclusion, Segregation, Symbolic control.

Scientific racism in current policies

Ideas persist in policing patterns and mass incarceration linking crime to nonwhite communities.

Charles Darwin

Developed evolution theory misused to justify racial hierarchies.

Thomas Jefferson

Argued racial differences justified inequality, contradicting ideals of equality.

Auguste Comte

Created positivism; believed society could be studied scientifically.

Cesare Lombroso

Founder of criminology, believed criminals are biologically different.

Francis Galton

Created eugenics; believed traits are inherited.

Henry Goddard

Applied eugenics in the U.S.; studied families to argue heredity of crime.