Psychology Program Presents

Addicted to Rehab:
Race, Gender, and Drug Treatment in the Era of Mass Incarceration 

After decades of the American “war on drugs," relentless prison expansion, and rising opioid deaths, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution: addiction treatment. However, we know so little about what goes on inside treatment programs that scholars have called it a “black box.” Allison McKim’s ethnographic research heads inside the black box to compare two treatment programs for women – one in the criminal justice system and one in the healthcare system. There, she finds two different ways of defining and treating addiction. She reveals that the category "addiction" reflects punitive criminal justice policy and its race, class, and gender politics. Thus when we use "addiction" to understand and address complex social problems, we further stigmatize marginalized women, reproduce inequality, and extend punishment.

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For more information, call 845-758-7380, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Preston Theater

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