Anthropology

Jessica Katzenstein

Postdoctoral Fellow in the Inequality in America Initiative, Harvard University
Research Interests Police, Reform, Racism & whiteness, Labor, State violence; United States
Ph.D. Dissertation Reforming U.S. Police: Racialized Violence, Labor, and Police Common Sense

Biography

Areas of Interest

Jessica’s dissertation, an ethnographic study of police in Maryland, examines why U.S. police reforms fail to realize their promises. Specifically, it explores how training, militarization, community policing, and patrol work shape how police officers absorb and resist reforms in the midst of a legitimacy crisis. Jessica holds an MA in anthropology from Brown University and a BA magna cum laude in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. Her research has been supported by multiple National Science Foundation fellowships and by the Center for Engaged Scholarship.

Previous Degrees

  • B.A. in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis