Public Comic Book Reading and Discussion
What does it mean to use criminalization as a political tool? Who is disproportionately affected by criminal law and prison sentences? *Down by Law* (PM Press) shows how people in criminalized communities act, resist, and build solidarity. The volume brings together short graphic novels on topics such as abortion, drug use, sea rescue, hate speech, and prison. Cultural anthropologist Friederike Faust (University of Göttingen) and artist Valerie Assmann have collaborated on projects focusing on women in prison. Together with Beate Binder (Humboldt University of Berlin), they discuss the story “Go Ahead and Cry.” Everyday Life in a German Women’s Prison.
Valerie Assmann lives and works as a graphic designer in Berlin. She studied in Berlin, Stockholm, and Jerusalem. In her work, she frequently addresses feminist themes and aims to draw attention to existing inequalities through sensitive visual forms.
Beate Binder was a professor of European Ethnology and Gender Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin until September 2025. She conducts research on law, politics, gender, and sexuality from a cultural anthropological perspective. She also experiments with ways of presenting ethnographic knowledge beyond traditional academic formats.
Friederike Faust is an assistant professor at the Institute for Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology at Georg-August University of Göttingen. Previously, she collaborated with Beate Binder on the European research project “CrimScapes: Navigating Citizenship through European Landscapes of Criminalization,” which led to the creation of the comic *Down by Law *. Her ethnographic research focuses on gender, punishment, and citizenship.
Moderator: Professor Dr. Annelie Ramsbrock
