Reimagining Education Through an Abolitionist Lens

Welcome to Faculty in Focus, Project Pericles’ Weekly Spotlight where we celebrate incredible work of our Periclean community.

Anita and Marika in Spring 2024

Anita Chikkatur, a Periclean Faculty Leader (PFL) and Professor of Educational Studies at Carleton College, partnered with Marika Pfefferkorn, Co-founder of the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance and Executive Director of Midwest Center for School Transformation, to develop and teach an exciting senior seminar course at Carleton College this past Spring: Carcerality and Education. This course was developed as part of the Periclean Faculty Leadership (PFL) Program–a Project Pericles faculty leadership initiative that supports innovative curricula deepening students’ engagement with critical societal issues in order to contribute meaningfully to communities.

Originally conceived with the goal of teaching about the school to prison pipeline, the course explored how “carcerality” - the influence of punitive systems -  is embedded into K-12 public education throughout the United States. By compiling resources, including materials made by students, Chikkatur and Pfefferkorn have created a valuable online compendium for abolitionist education, aiming to create more equitable schools by challenging systemic oppression, available here. This collection of resources, from reading guides to class activities, is available for use by educators, students, and any community members hoping to deepen understanding of abolitionist practices.

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On an impactful trip to a local high school in Minneapolis, students were able to witness firsthand evidence of carcerality in education. Through tours led by high school students, the class had the opportunity to reflect on how a school’s design influences the environment and purpose. Many public schools are designed by prison architects and thus have carceral aesthetics–for example, one feature noted by students was the lack of windows. The behavior expected of students also had identifiable carceral qualities, including requiring students to sign out hall passes and placing restrictions on which students can take advantage of the school being an open campus.
The course also featured an abridged version of a gallery walk developed by Twin Cities Innovation Alliance about data and digital surveillance in schools as well as a zine on The School to Prison Pipeline developed by Project Nia. Students went on to create additional pages of the zine to expand on the idea of the school to prison nexus.

Throughout the course, Chikkatur and Pfefferkorn grappled with what it means to work through an abolitionist lens to truly de-carcerate a space. By exploring the distinction between reform and abolition, they recognized that abolition is not only about dismantling harmful systems but also about envisioning and building new, transformative structures. This understanding allowed for abolitionist work to be centered as a constructive and creative process. To reflect this spirit of building and creating abolitionist materials, students were tasked to develop abolitionist content for the course website. This led to a wealth of different resources including a lesson plan on identities and an abolitionist picture book. 

​This innovative course exemplifies the power of education to question, deconstruct, and reimagine systems, while equipping students with tools to create a more equitable future. 

​Kudos to Anita Chikkatur and Marika Pfefferkorn for designing and leading this exciting course and to the students who commit to reimagining education through an abolitionist lens!

Interested in learning more? If you’ll be at the AAC&U Annual conference next week in DC, join Anita and other Periclean Faculty leaders on our panel, “Co-Creation in Education: Strengthening Communities through Curricular Partnerships,” moderated by Arielle del Rosario, on Friday, Jan 24 at 11 AM in DC!

Abolitionist Art Based Organizations, final project by Carleton student, Ahtziry Tinajero