Thesis Defence: Prisoners’ justice day: collective memory and solidarity in captivity
July 27 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Bethany Sanjenko, supervised by Dr. Bonar Buffam, will defend their thesis titled “Prisoners’ justice day: collective memory and solidarity in captivity” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Power, Conflict, and Ideas theme.
An abstract for Bethany Sanjenko’s thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in-person defences.
Abstract
Prisoners Justice Day is an annual protest that began in 1975 as a response to the death of Eddie Nalon in solitary confinement at Kingston Penitentiary. During the past 50 years, there have been no explorations into what has allowed Prisoners’ Justice Day to remain relevant across decades, varying political climates, and changes to the Canadian penal system. This research examines this issue through the lens of collective memory and the theoretical framework of critical discourse analysis to discover the key to this movement’s longevity over time. The dataset used for this research is a compilation of prisoner-produced publications from 1975 until 2024 and made accessible through the Penal Press. These materials offer firsthand accounts of carceral life and provide prisoners with opportunities to communicate with one another and unite through common grievances. Writing pertaining to Prisoners’ Justice Day was analyzed and coded based on emergent themes, leading to the thesis’ focus on memory and solidarity. The thesis argues that the penal press behaves as a medium through which a collective memory can be created by prisoners within various institutions. Collective memory consists of a set of memories that is unique to a particular group and informs group identity. Feelings of group solidarity are simultaneously reinforced in this collective memory by reminding prisoners of their shared goals and the traumas they have experienced as a group. This thesis argues that through the use of collective memory and solidarity practices enabled through the penal press, Prisoners’ Justice Day has remained a significant and consistent part of the prison justice movement as a whole.
