Wikipedia

Karlene Faith

Karlene Faith(1938 – May 15, 2017) was a Canadian writer, feminist, scholar, and human rights activist.[1]She was a professoremeritaat theSimon Fraser UniversitySchool ofCriminology.[2]

Karlene Faith
Born1938(1938)
Aylsham, Saskatchewan,Canada
DiedMay 15, 2017(2017-05-15)(aged 78–79)
Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada
Alma materUniversity of California, Santa Cruz(BA,PhD)

Early life and career

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Karlene Faith was born inAylsham, Saskatchewanin 1938. She was the oldest of six children and her father was a United Church Minister. After moving to a small town inMontananear a jail, Faith often witnessed police brutality.

In 1970, she earned her anthropology degree with Highest Honors at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.She also played a role in developing the Santa Cruz Women's Prison Project in 1972.[1]Faith received aDanforth Fellowshipto study for four more years atUC Santa Cruz,earning her Ph.D. in 1981.

Career

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While working at a local radio station as a record librarian, she was given air play to read teletype news on theKorean War,theHouse Un-American Activities Committee,and other events.

By the time she was 30, Faith had worked in the United States, Germany, France, and Eritrea studying music, going to school, teaching, and working with thePeace Corps.

Faith's PhD Thesis was an anthropological overview of the Rastafari.

In the mid-1970s, she worked with the Manson women,Susan Atkins,Patricia Krenwinkel,andLeslie Van Houten,at the California Institution for Women.[3]She later wrote a book about her work with the women. In her book,The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten,she tells how two of the women believed that they would "grow wings and become fairies," a belief that they obtained fromCharles Manson.Faith viewed all of these women as victims, and lobbied for their early release from prison.

She has co-hosted the radio show "Criminal Justice on Trial," taught with Dr. Rafael Guzman atCorrectional Training FacilityinSoledad, California.She also conducted research at theCalifornia Institution for Women.

Writing and awards

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She wrote many books on women and theirincarceration.Her first bookUnruly Women: The Politics of Confinement and Resistancewas first published in 1993 throughPress Gangand has been called "path breaking" because of its historical overview of draconian social control practices.[1]It went on to win theVanCity Book Prizein 1994.[4]In 1997, Faith wroteMadonna: Bawdy & Soul.[5]

In 2001,University Press of New Englandpublished Faith's bookThe Long Prison Journey of Leslie van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult.[6]

Faith was the recipient of the dean of arts medal for research, teaching, and service focus from Simon Fraser University in 2002.[7]In 2000, she received the International Helen prize for Humanitarian Works, and in 2001 she received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society for Criminology.[7]

Personal life

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She died of anaortic aneurysmon May 15, 2017, in Vancouver, Canada.[8]

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Faith is portrayed in the feature filmCharlie Saysby actressMerritt Wever.The film is partly based on Faith's book,The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houtenand portrays her work with the Manson women after theTate–LaBianca murders.[9]

Bibliography

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  • Toward New Horizons for Women in Distance Education: International Perspectives(Routledge, 1988)[10]
  • Unruly Women: The Politics of Confinement & Resistance(Press Gang, 1st ed., 1993; Seven Stories Press, 2nd ed., 2011)[11]
  • Seeking Shelter: A State of Battered Women(edited with Dawn H. Currie, Collective Press, 1993)
  • Madonna: Bawdy & Soul(University of Toronto Press, 1997)[12]
  • The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult(Northeastern University Press, 2001)[13]

References

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  1. ^abcDeKeseredy, Walter S. (2000). "Taking a Position and Staying Grounded: A Biography of Karlene Faith".Women & Criminal Justice.12:7–21.doi:10.1300/J012v12n01_02.S2CID142549311.
  2. ^Simon Fraser University School of Criminology.ArchivedOctober 12, 2012, at theWayback MachineRetrieved 04-14-11.
  3. ^Jeffrey Melnick, "Keeping Faith With the Manson Women,"The New Yorker,August 1, 2018.
  4. ^VanCity Book Prize.ArchivedJanuary 5, 2009, at theWayback MachineRetrieved 04-14-11.
  5. ^Amazon.Retrieved 04-14-11.
  6. ^"University Press of New England - Redirect Page".upne.RetrievedAugust 12,2017.
  7. ^abMeadahl, Marianne. "Arts Medallists Rated Tops." Simon Fraser University News September 19, 2002. Print.
  8. ^"Karlene Faith obituary - BC Booklook".bcbooklook.RetrievedAugust 12,2017.
  9. ^"Charlie Says (2018) - IMDb".IMDb.
  10. ^Reviews ofToward New Horizons for Women in Distance Education:
    • Henri, France (1989),"Review",International Journal of e-Learning and Distance Education,4(1): 75–79
    • Sutherland, Margaret B. (1989),Comparative Education,25(1): 113–114,JSTOR3099008{{citation}}:CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
    • Moss, Dennis (1990),British Educational Research Journal,16(1): 94–95,JSTOR1500905{{citation}}:CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  11. ^Review ofUnruly Women:
    • Hannah-Moffat, Kelly (Fall 1994),"Review",New Feminist Research,23(3): 66–67
  12. ^Reviews ofMadonna: Bawdy and Soul:
  13. ^Reviews ofThe Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten:
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