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Kaden Paulson Smith

faculty

Kaden Paulson Smith, PhD

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Assistant Teaching Professor

Crime & Justice Studies

Curriculum Vitae
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Contact

508-999-8765

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Balsam Hall 9172

Education

2021University of Wisconsin, MadisonPhD in Political Science
2017University of Wisconsin, MadisonMA in Political Science
2014Smith CollegeBA in Government

Teaching

Courses

The history of criminology through a study of the theorists who comprise the field's three dominant schools of thought: Classical Criminology, Positivism and Critical Criminology. Students will be introduced to critical deconstructions of each paradigm through a fourth school of thought: Anti-Colonial Criminology. The historical and political contexts of each theory and theorist will be emphasized to highlight the impact criminology has on policy, society and human relations.

An in-depth examination of the theoretical formulations, social movement contexts, and political praxes for the study of crime and justice. This will be pursued through a study of abolitionism across a variety of historical contexts and institutional and community settings in order to facilitate incisive critical thought on the most pressing social problems of our time.

Examines Crime and Justice Studies as a multidisciplinary field of study that bridges criminology, criminal justice, and justice studies. Students engage with a variety of histories, policies, procedures, and politics that inform how crime and justice are constructed within U.S. transnational and intersectional contexts. Areas of analysis include state-making, citizenship, social control, criminality, surveillance and security, war, rights and law, revolution, prison writing, nonviolence, collective justice, and abolitionism.

Examines Crime and Justice Studies as a multidisciplinary field of study that bridges criminology, criminal justice, and justice studies. Students engage with a variety of histories, policies, procedures, and politics that inform how crime and justice are constructed within U.S. transnational and intersectional contexts. Areas of analysis include state-making, citizenship, social control, criminality, surveillance and security, war, rights and law, revolution, prison writing, nonviolence, collective justice, and abolitionism.

Examines Crime and Justice Studies as a multidisciplinary field of study that bridges criminology, criminal justice, and justice studies. Students engage with a variety of histories, policies, procedures, and politics that inform how crime and justice are constructed within U.S. transnational and intersectional contexts. Areas of analysis include state-making, citizenship, social control, criminality, surveillance and security, war, rights and law, revolution, prison writing, nonviolence, collective justice, and abolitionism.

Examines Crime and Justice Studies as a multidisciplinary field of study that bridges criminology, criminal justice, and justice studies. Students engage with a variety of histories, policies, procedures, and politics that inform how crime and justice are constructed within U.S. transnational and intersectional contexts. Areas of analysis include state-making, citizenship, social control, criminality, surveillance and security, war, rights and law, revolution, prison writing, nonviolence, collective justice, and abolitionism.

The history of criminology through a study of the theorists who comprise the field's three dominant schools of thought: Classical Criminology, Positivism and Critical Criminology. Students will be introduced to critical deconstructions of each paradigm through a fourth school of thought: Anti-Colonial Criminology. The historical and political contexts of each theory and theorist will be emphasized to highlight the impact criminology has on policy, society and human relations.

Directed readings and analysis in selected topics.

An in-depth examination of the theoretical formulations, social movement contexts, and political praxes for the study of crime and justice. This will be pursued through a study of abolitionism across a variety of historical contexts and institutional and community settings in order to facilitate incisive critical thought on the most pressing social problems of our time.

Online and Continuing Education Courses

Contemporary feminist movement that reaches beyond the traditional goal of gender equality to include multiple intersecting categories such as race and class. Intersectional feminism is a theoretical lens for understanding how sexism, racism, and other oppressive frameworks, can overlap and affect people in multiple ways by reinforcing social inequalities and upholding systems of privilege.

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Research

Research interests

  • Critical carceral studies
  • Law and society
  • African politics
  • Feminist and postcolonial studies

Select publications

See curriculum vitae for more publications

Kaden Paulson-Smith is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Crime & Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Their research and teaching crosscut critical carceral studies, law and society, African politics, and feminist and postcolonial studies. Kaden’s current book project reframes contemporary policing as a colonial legacy in East Africa. Before joining UMass Dartmouth, Kaden was an Assistant Professor of Democracy & Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Kaden received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a BA in Government from Smith College.

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