Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Justin Rogers-Cooper

Subject Categories

African American Studies | Other American Studies | United States History

Keywords

Carcerality, Conjuncture, Hegemony, Resistance, Neoliberalism, Racial Capitalism

Abstract

This thesis traces the historical development and contemporary manifestations of carceral power in Louisiana, arguing that racialized systems of control—from slavery and convict leasing to mass incarceration—have been sustained through shifting alliances of political and economic elites. Using The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) and its exhibit Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration as a foundational timeline, this study demonstrates how Bourbonism forged a regional bloc that institutionalized racial domination through incarceration and labor exploitation, later reconstituted through neoliberal policies of abandonment, privatization, and militarization. I chose to focus on Hurricane Katrina because its aftermath reflects many of the conditions central to mass displacement, racialized neglect, and carceral violence. The events examined here unfold along a continuum of structural violence that renders certain lives expendable. The post-Katrina moment exemplifies how crises are weaponized to deepen hegemony, criminalize subaltern populations, and transfer public responsibility to punitive and profit-driven systems. I was drawn to this topic not only for its political urgency but for what it reveals about race, governance, and resistance in the United States. This thesis also foregrounds the enduring agency of marginalized communities, highlighting how counter-hegemonic struggles—from grassroots resistance to coalition-building—challenge dominant narratives and work toward an unfinished project of abolition democracy. By examining the interplay of hegemony, subalternity, and resistance, this project calls for renewed attention to solidarity across movements that confront the racialized structures of neoliberal governance and carceral expansion.

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