Ninah Jackson’s Post

After months of research, writing, and countless revisions, I'm incredibly proud to share that I've successfully defended my senior honors thesis, "Captive Study: The Political, Intellectual, and Ideological Dimensions of Prison Education." As I write in my third chapter, this project has been a labor of love, principled critique, and deep reflection — one that pushed me to wrestle with questions around carceral education, prison-school spaces, antiblackness and U.S. schooling, and the ethico-political limits of liberal-progressive educational projects. I approached this work through a critical ethnographic lens, combining semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and participant-observation, to explore how education is conceptualized, organized, and experienced at a medium-security men's prison in rural Pennsylvania. I'm so grateful for the guidance and support of my thesis advisors, committee members, research participants, peers, and everyone else who helped me bring Captive Study to life. What a meaningful way to mark the closing chapter of my time at Bucknell!