Ethics of Care and Radical Empathy in Archiving Incarceration Experiences

This project examines the ethics of archiving first-hand experiences of incarceration, with particular attention to how care practices are embedded in this work. In the U.S. criminal legal system, archival records are often used to construct narratives that dehumanize and criminalize people, particularly Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. At the same time, however, those impacted by incarceration are increasingly creating their own archives that document the effects of incarceration from the perspective of those who have experienced it. This project studies these archives, asking the following questions: If and how does contributing one’s story or materials about incarceration to an archive create opportunities for healing? How do ethics of care and radical empathy guide archival work on incarceration?