“We need to understand that we are dealing with humans”: penal spectatorship and experiential learning in criminology

Carceral logics have long been implicated for their role in (re)productions of otherness, that in settler colonial contexts such as Canada are often embedded within logics of colonialism, anti-black racism, and white supremacy. Given the persistence of these logics and the violences they perpetuate, what might it mean to confront these constructions in a criminology classroom? Based on interviews with 41 staff and faculty of criminology departments across Canada, I consider how pedagogical tools of experiential learning, are characterized by those delivering the opportunities. Participants often draw on three narratives to explain the importance of experiential learning: 1) as transformative; 2) practical; and 3) an obligation.