Another milestone in the Legacies project! This week Dr. Liv S. Gaborit elegantly defended her thesis and received high praise and engaged critique from a committee of three highly reputable scholars. It was a pleasure to witness Liv share the results of her lengthy and challenging fieldwork among former prisoners and in prisons in Myanmar. The thesis itself - a collection of 4 academic papers linked together by a series of photographs taken by former prisoners as part of the project – reflects Liv’s qualities as a scholar and her values. It demonstrates her steadfastness, her perseverance, her commitment to acknowledge the inherent worth of every person, and her inclusionary politics. Taking experiences of imprisonment as a lens through which to reflect on ethnographic methodologies, liminal processes, and dynamics of transition this is a novel and important contribution of which I am proud to have been a part.
Andrew M. Jefferson
