Cattle Towns, Prison Towns: Historical Geographies of Rural Carceral Archipelagoes

Abstract

abstract:Prison towns and cattle towns in the rural American West both exist as places marked by incarceration. Comparing the formation of these carceral archipelagoes offers an opportunity to better understand how certain bodies have become exploitable and killable within the American industrial landscape. Their comparison also provides a starting point for thinking through the historical geographies and shared spatial logics of industrial meat production and for-profit prisons.