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Abstract
Using a quasi-experimental research design to test the “Marshall Hypothesis,” we investigated the effects of reading Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration and the Age of Colorblindness on college students’ views of drug policy in the United States. One hundred and twenty-eight undergraduate students at a predominantly white Midwest university took part in this study. Test subjects read the text and took both a pre- and posttest questionnaire, while a control group of students, who did not read the book, was also surveyed concerning their views on drug policies. Additionally, reflective essays written by the test population were also analyzed. Findings offer limited support for the Marshall Hypothesis, which asserts that a properly informed constituency would conclude that certain policies in the U.S. are unjust. Students, in general, showed significant changes in their perceptions of drug policies after reading the text. However, disaggregating students by gender showed that female students, more than male students, are more convinced by Alexander’s arguments that current drug policy unfairly target communities of color.
Notes
1 Unfortunately, due to the need to protect student confidentiality, we were not able to link the quantitative data to the reflective essay.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Richard D. Clark
Richard D. Clark is an Associate Professor who teaches courses in criminological theory, drugs and crime, and violence.
Gloria S. Vaquera
Gloria Vaquera is an Associate Professor whose research interests focus on diversity in higher education and teaches courses in race and ethnicity, Latinx studies and research methods.
Kenneth S. Chaplin
Kenneth Sean Chaplin, is an Assistant Professor who teaches courses in the area of race and ethnicity, culture and the sociology of sport.