Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Liberal Studies
Advisor
Michael Yarbrough
Subject Categories
Judges | Law and Politics | Law and Society | Other Legal Studies | Public Interest | Social Justice
Keywords
Parole Revocation Hearing, carceral control, performance theory, Type-marking, Neoliberal Governance, Performativity
Abstract
This thesis examines parole revocation hearings in New York as complex performances that extend carceral control beyond prison walls. Drawing on a composite vignette from the Bronx parole court, it analyzes the interplay between procedural reform, constitutional due process, and neoliberal governance. Using a dramaturgical framework informed by Michel Foucault’s discourse analysis and Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, the study identifies four interrelated processes: the judge as director, who orchestrates hearings according to institutional priorities; normalization, where repetition embeds structural inequality as routine; type-marking, the classification of parolees into predefined roles through accumulated records and cues; and the extension of surveillance into daily life through self-governance and community-based monitoring. Legislative developments such as the Less is More Act and the precedent set by Morrissey v. Brewer are shown to frame parole as fair, efficient, and rehabilitative, while in practice reinforcing ongoing supervision and limiting the parolee’s agency. The analysis reveals how these hearings sustain the appearance of individualized justice while functioning as mechanisms of governance that perpetuate inequality, extract value from those under supervision, and integrate community institutions into the carceral network. By reframing revocation hearings as staged performances, the thesis illuminates the structural and symbolic forces that shape outcomes and highlights the need for further inquiry into the spaces where law, performance, and resistance intersect.
Recommended Citation
Greeff, Kelsey G., "Scripted for Surveillance: Parole Revocation Hearings and the Performance of Procedure in New York" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6409
Included in
Judges Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Other Legal Studies Commons, Public Interest Commons, Social Justice Commons
