Johnny Smith

Research Interests: mass incarceration, probation reform, qualitative methods, occupational duality, education, prison educational programming, collegiate recovery programs, harm reduction

Johnny Smith is a PhD student in Sociology. Returning to educational pursuits after a 15-year hiatus, Johnny discovered his passion for learning and education. At the University of California, Berkeley, he became further empowered by his own lived experiences, which includes being formerly incarcerated, to research mass incarceration, mass probation, and, specifically, the occupational duality among probation officers. His particular social positionality lends a unique perspective that allows for critical analyses of systemic issues throughout the carceral state, and generally provides an outsider viewpoint for academic evaluation. With these conventions in mind, Johnny employs the pedagogy of real talk to connect with peers and colleagues. Other causes that Johnny is passionate about are collegiate recovery programs and harm reduction. As he broadens his scope of research, Johnny anticipates interrogating sociocultural relationships between substance use disorders and mass incarceration.

Previous Degrees:
BA in Sociology, University of California, Berkeley (2024)