I am a scholar of freedom, examining how this foundational concept shapes justice, civic life, and democratic participation. Political theory often considers freedom in abstract terms, but my research seeks to make it actionable, bridging the gap between theory and practice. My work examines freedom in two key areas:
1. freedom as a justification for imprisonment
2. freedom as an expression of civic engagement
By grounding theory in real-world contexts, I seek to deepen our understanding of freedom as both a personal right and a social responsibility, providing insights into contemporary issues of justice, citizenship, and democracy.
Because my research is both critical and interdisciplinary, I publish in venues that extend beyond traditional political science journals. This approach reflects the broad relevance of my work across disciplines such as sociology, cultural studies, and criminology. It also serves as a necessary intervention in political science, encouraging the field to engage with emerging frameworks and methodologies that can enhance its scope and impact.
Guided by Xavier University’s mission to promote a more just and humane society, my research investigates justice within systems of imprisonment and civic participation. Working at a historically Black institution has strengthened my dedication to addressing the exclusion of minority groups—especially Black Americans—from the full freedoms of civic life. Through a focus on equity and inclusion, I support Xavier’s goal of preparing students to become leaders and advocates for change in a diverse, global society, advancing research that is deeply committed to this mission.
The first pillar of my research examines how incarceration practices highlight the boundaries and complexities of freedom. My dissertation focused on private prisons, analyzing how shifting incarceration to private entities affects the state’s unique authority to limit individual freedoms. Using perspectives from different punishment theories, I argued that private incarceration disrupts the idea that only the state should have the power to restrict freedom. I have since expanded this work, especially through civic republican theories, to explore the political limits of incarceration and freedom especially in private prisons.
Recently, I completed an ethnographic study of the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which investigates how the prison uses public events to reinforce its legitimacy. This interdisciplinary study combines firsthand observations with political theory to show how cultural events shape public views on punishment and the right to freedom. By examining how spectators both observe and, in a sense, participate in disciplining inmates, my research offers a new perspective on surveillance, presenting the prison rodeo as a unique space where the public becomes part of the carceral system that restricts freedom.
My work on imprisonment is interdisciplinary, bridging political theory with law, criminology, cultural studies, and surveillance studies. This approach expands traditional studies of punishment by emphasizing how cultural factors influence public views on justice and freedom, providing practical insights for policymakers and enriching academic conversations on incarceration.
In line with the university’s mission, this research contributes to building a more just and humane society by critically examining systems that restrict freedom and disproportionately affect marginalized communities. This research allows me to engage student in discussions about justice, power, and civic responsibility. My work fosters the kind of reflective leadership and service the university seeks to cultivate.
Relevant Work:
(Forthcoming 2025) “Neo-Roman Freedom and Private Incarceration in the Modern Republic.” Forthcoming in Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society.
(Forthcoming 2025) “Spectacle, Surveillance, and Discipline at the Angola Prison Rodeo” Forthcoming in Lateral.
(2021) “Consequentialism and Retributivism in Civic Republican Punishment.” Academia Letters.
The second pillar of my research explores how freedom is practiced through civic engagement, showing how active participation strengthens democratic freedom. Drawing on civic republican ideas, I emphasize that freedom is realized through public involvement, making civic engagement essential for a healthy democracy.
A major focus of my work is on the restricted freedoms that minority groups face in civic life. My collaboration with Nicholas Buccola examines how debates from the Civil Rights Movement raised crucial questions about freedom and equality, highlighting how our understanding of these values continues to evolve. This research connects historical and theoretical perspectives to current struggles for inclusion, showing how political theory applies to real-life issues in democracy.
I also have interdisciplinary collaboration expanding this work on minority groups. In my work with sociologist Robert. F. Carley, we examine how recent economic and political changes affect civic participation among working-class communities. This project, combining sociological and political theory, examines how shifts in policy and economy reshape community identity and engagement, drawing on Antonio Gramsci’s ideas to suggest practical approaches for supporting working-class political engagement.
I also apply political theory to current challenges. For example, my work with Jeffrey Church uses Alexis de Tocqueville's theory of new despotism to examine how digital spaces affect democratic freedom. Our findings highlight the risks to democracy when people rely heavily on online political processes, showing the importance of active, in-person civic participation.
This research expands on traditional studies of civic engagement by combining political theory with research on race, technology, and history. By focusing on how social and political contexts shape freedom, my work provides insights into the opportunities and challenges of democratic participation today. In doing so, it aligns closely with the university’s mission to promote a more just and humane society. By examining how civic engagement can be made more inclusive and responsive to marginalized communities, my research allows me to prepare students to think critically about leadership and service in a global society.
Relevant Work:
(Forthcoming 2026) “The Reification of De-Proletarianization: Antonio Gramsci, Culture, and the Political Production of Class,” (with Robert F. Carley, Texas A&M University). The Intellect Handbook of Class and Culture, edited by Deirdre O'Neill and Teresa Crew.
(Forthcoming 2026) “The New Despotism 2.0: Tocqueville on Social Media and AI”(with Jeffrey Church, University of Houston). Old Lessons for New Challenges: What the Past can Teach Us about AI and New Media, edited by Alin Fumurescu. Cambridge University Press.
(Forthcoming 2026) “The Civic Constitution of Liberty: King, Goldwater, and the Battle over the Civil Rights Act of 1964” (with Nicholas Buccola). Forthcoming in Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society.
(2024) “Accessibility and Alienation in Race and the American Story.” The Political Science Reviewer.
My future research will continue exploring freedom in both civic engagement and incarceration, keeping political theory connected to today’s most pressing issues.
In line with Xavier University’s mission to prepare students for leadership and service, I am especially interested in merging my research on civic engagement with teaching strategies. Currently, through a fellowship with the Center for Artistic Activism’s Unstoppable Voters Fellowship, I am writing a book chapter reflecting on ways to encourage creative civic participation among students. Using comparative data from the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semester, I am reflecting on how experimental classroom assignments inspire student engagement. My fellowship colleagues and I will co-authoring a book documenting our findings to share these insights with educators across various fields.
I am expanding my forthcoming article on the Angola Prison Rodeo (Lateral) into a book project, Disciplinary Theater, which examines how Louisiana’s prison system stages inmate labor as both productive and legitimate. From nineteenth-century convict leasing to today’s Louisiana Prison Enterprises program, prisons in the state have repeatedly presented coerced labor as rehabilitative and socially beneficial. While these practices generate revenue, they also perform a deeper ideological function: cultivating cultural consent for the prison itself by recasting racialized coercion as moral good. This project advances my research on freedom and imprisonment by showing how public rituals sustain the legitimacy of mass incarceration and explain its persistence even amid widespread critique. Building on my dissertation on private prisons and my ethnographic research at Angola, the book demonstrates how both economic and cultural forces shape incarceration and manage freedom inside prisons. I anticipate submitting a book proposal to Palgrave McMillan in 2025.
Additionally, I am expanding my co-authored research on Antonio Gramsci into a book project with Robert Carley (Texas A&M University). Building on our forthcoming chapter in the Handbook of Class and Culture, this book (tentatively titled Gramsci and the Post-Neoliberal Turn) will examine Gramsci’s relevance in a post-neoliberal world and his potential to foster more cohesive working-class movements. Our plan is to develop a five-chapter manuscript that begins with Gramsci’s general importance for democratic life, explores how his ideas can strengthen class-based civic engagement, and applies his theory to contemporary social movements that must move beyond purely defensive forms of politics. My own contribution will emphasize how Gramsci’s thought recaptures democratic aspirations often missing from other critiques of class, culminating in an analysis of the prospects for collective political action in a fractured age. This project advances my research on civic engagement by showing how political theory can illuminate pathways for more inclusive and participatory democracy. We anticipate submitting this book proposal to publishers in 2026.
Through these projects, I aim to keep political theory grounded in real-world applications, helping us better understand freedom in the context of today’s social and political challenges.