Jackie Wang

Jackie Wang is an Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC), affiliated with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on the intersections of racial capitalism, carceral systems, and surveillance, with a particular emphasis on the U.S. criminal legal system and its technological dimensions. She is the author of Carceral Capitalism (2018) and a forthcoming book Vectors of Control, exploring postwar criminal legal reforms and their impact on carceral technologies.

Education:

• Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, Harvard University (2020)
• M.A. in African and African American Studies, Harvard University (2018)
• B.A. in Liberal Arts, New College of Florida (2010)

Her research interests include critical carceral studies, the political economy of prisons, surveillance studies, and the Black radical tradition. Her work bridges academic disciplines with creative expression, including poetry recognized with the National Book Award Finalist distinction (2021).

Awards & Fellowships:

• National Book Award Finalist in Poetry (2021)
• Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies Fellowship (2020–2021)
• Multiple Harvard University fellowships (2017–2019)
• Poetry awards and residencies (2010s)

Her academic contributions span interdisciplinary collaborations, including co-editing Technoprecarious (2020), and her research has been supported by grants from institutions like the Warren Center and Weatherhead Center.