Ajua Kouadio Dissertation Proposal Defense – “A Small Group of Agitators”: Policing, Punishment and Surveillance in New York City High Schools

Committee: Dr. Ben Justice, Dr. Jack Tchen, Prof. Tracey Meares, Dr. Donna Murch

Date: Tuesday, January 10

Time: 3pm

Abstract

This dissertation explores the history of policing, punishment, and surveillance in the nation’s largest school district—New York City. It argues that the proliferation of carceral apparatuses in schools was part of a repressive, conservative response to 1960s high school student activism. Exclusionary discipline, surveillance, and police in hallways were incorporated into public schools as part of a larger movement to quell student organizing around faculty representation, facilities, curriculum, and discipline policies, among other issues. This project exists at the nexus of carceral studies, school discipline history, and Black educational studies and tells the story of policymakers’ punitive approach to 1960s high school student activism and its unfortunate, enduring legacy.

To access the Zoom link required to attend this defense, please contact academic.services@gse.rutgers.edu.