Create a zine about prison agriculture in the US using one key concept (e.g. racial capitalism, criminalization, labor, discipline, abolition, etc.). You can bring in other concepts, but if you do, clarify how you are connecting concepts. The zine can focus on broad conditions (e.g. agriculture as a work requirement, the political economy of prison agriculture), specific conditions (e.g. a case of workplace abuse or injury on a prison farm), or the connections between macro and micro prison agriculture conditions. The zine can also focus on specific places, time periods, the links between prison agriculture and other ethnoracial, class, and gender inequities, and more. Ultimately, the zine should offer a form of analysis and critique. Think about what you are interested in and how to focus your interest into the format of a zine. Make sure the zine is at least 10 pages. Access PDF of this module here.
- Draft an outline of what each page of the zine will communicate.
- Each page should advance a clear narrative. Make sure that you identify the concept that informs your analysis of prison agriculture early on and advance a story that communicates its significance.
- While the zine can and should include narrative elements, also include data visualizations (plots, infographics, word clouds, etc.) using a combination of data from the Prison Agriculture Lab and other data tied to carcerality in the US. Zines should be creative, so include pictures, collages, mashups, and/or other visual techniques.
- Format the zine according to instructions in the resources below. You can create the zine in either a physical or digital format.
- Turn in a physical and digital version of the zine (digitally scan the physical version/ print the digital version)
How To Make a Zine
Electric Zine Maker. See also https://observer.com/2021/03/electric-zine-maker-diy-open-souce-tool/)
Examples
Direct Action for Prison Abolition
Counter-Cartographies Collective Zine
Resources
Readings
Bagelman, Jennifer Jean, and Carly Bagelman. 2016. “Zines: Crafting change and repurposing the neoliberal university.” ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies. 15.2: 365-392.
Creasap, Kimberly. 2014. “Zine-making as feminist pedagogy.” Feminist Teacher 24.3: 155-168.
Duncombe, Stephen. 1997. Notes from underground: Zines and the politics of alternative culture. Verso.
Licona, Adela C. 2012. Zines in third space: Radical cooperation and borderlands rhetoric. Suny Press.
McNutt, Andrew. 2021. “On the Potential of Zines as a Medium for Visualization.” 2021 IEEE Visualization Conference.
Piepmeier, Alison. 2008. “Why zines matter: Materiality and the creation of embodied community.” American Periodicals. 18.2: 213-238.
Wan, Amy J. 1995. “Not just for kids anymore: Using zines in the classroom.” The Radical Teacher 15-19.
Watson, Ash, and Andy Bennett. 2021. “The felt value of reading zines.” American Journal of Cultural Sociology 9.2: 115-149.
Prison Agriculture Lab 