Rita Shah
(she/her/hers)
Education
- B.A., American University, 2003
- Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 2011
Interests and Expertise
- Corrections
- Cultural criminology
- Textual analysis
- Qualitative and visual methods
Professional
Dr. Rita Shah (she/her/hers) is a cultural criminologist who focuses on the social and legal construction of correctional systems and structures. By utilizing qualitative and visual methodologies, her research argues that correctional systems and structures do not exist in a vacuum. Rather, they are justified and reframed through criminal justice policy and reflect society’s view towards those who break the law. Her work has been published in the British Journal of Criminology and Contemporary Justice Review and is supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. Her current project, tentatively titled When Aspirations Aren’t Enough: Human Rights and Legitimacy in a Failing System, examines how the concept of human rights applies (or not) to a prison in Australia and whether such a frame allows for a new approach to corrections or provides new justification for existing systems. Dr. Shah is also an experienced educator who takes a critical constructivist approach to teaching. Her goal is to contextualize course topics in larger societal and cultural frames. She received her BA in communications, legal institutions, economics and government (CLEG) from American University and her MA in social ecology and Ph.D. in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine. In her free time, she can be found on photographic expeditions, reading for fun, or watching soccer.