Produção de sentidos sobre a educação na prisão em um contexto de racialização do sistema penal

Abstract

In this research, which is theoretical and documentary in nature, we aim to reflect on the racialization of the penal system through the criminalization of Black youth and to map the meanings attributed to education in spaces of deprivation of liberty based on educational policies aimed at this mode of education. We argue that certain discourses surrounding Adult and Youth Education in spaces of confinement are producing specific meanings about education that may contribute to the (re)production of racist discourses, much like the system in which this education is embedded. To place these discourses under scrutiny, we use a theoretical-strategic approach grounded in post-structural and post-foundational contributions from Laclau, Mouffe, and Jacques Derrida. We also draw on propositions from curriculum theory to reflect on issues related to the attempt to control otherness and on authors from various fields to reflect on the signifiers "race," "racism," and the criminalization of Brazilian Black youth. Initially, we present our theoretical framework that informs the research. Next, we problematize racializing discourses that play an important role in the criminalization of Black youth through penal law. In the third section, we map the discourses shaping Adult and Youth Education policies in spaces of confinement. From this mapping of regulations, we identify that certain discourses stand out in educational policies in spaces of deprivation of liberty, such as: education as a tool for resocialization/regeneration/reintegration; as a means of crime prevention; as a right to be realized throughout life; and as an important tool for the emancipation of individuals. In this context, we seek to problematize these logics with the help of Laclau, Costa, and Lopes. We argue that certain perspectives are crucial to the critique of mass incarceration of Black youth, but by not operating with a deconstructive lens on legal discourse, they end up (re)producing punitive and racist discourses.