Harin Yang
Research Mentor: Christopher Fariss
Mentor Department: Political Science, LSA
Author(s): Harin Yang
Session: Session 7 (4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 7
Abstract
This project addresses the ongoing challenges researchers face in developing a comprehensive definition of confinement sites including, but not limited to, concentration camps, internment camps, and detention centers. Although previous research focuses on how and why systems of confinement develop, major gaps exist regarding the systematic documentation and comparison of these forms of extrajudicial detention. By working under a University of Michigan PhD Candidate, I conducted individual case studies on the Gulags in the Soviet Union, Kwanliso in North Korea, and detention camps during the dictatorship in South Korea in order to contribute to a comprehensive global data set of confinement sites from 1865 to the present. Through this cross-national data set, this research aims to develop a systematic definition as to what characterizes and differentiates various forms of confinement sites. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to provide new qualitative insights about state-led repression and its impacts, assisting future scholars in developing more precise definitions and frameworks for studying these critical sites of human confinement.
