This course will examine the case for abolishing criminal justice systems and institutions. We will explore the roots of abolitionist work and thought, highlighting resistance to slavery and colonization, and critically engage contemporary movements for the abolition of policing, prisons and other carceral spaces of containment. The course will take a broad range of approaches to understanding arguments in favour of abolition, foregrounding alternatives and the work of those most impacted by unjust systems of power.