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Intersectionality as a framework and praxis has gathered significance in law and the social sciences over the past 20 years. This article begins by reviewing how intersectionality has been conceptualized, as well as the implications of varying definitions attributed to intersectionality. We then explore applications of intersectionality, first in research that focuses on uncovering processes of differentiation and systems of inequality across a range of topics, including reproductive rights, colonization, religion, immigration, and political behavior. After examining these processes and systems, we turn to a second research approach that focuses on categories of difference and between-category relationships. We find that despite different views on conceptualization, application, and implications, intersectionality may nevertheless open new avenues of inquiry for scholars as well as opportunities for transformative coalition building in social movements and grassroots organizations.

Objectives. Individual relationships to the state are shaped through encounters with a variety of institutions. Little scholarly attention has been devoted to how citizenship is shaped through everyday interactions with the social service arm of the state through local "welfare" offices. In Washington State, one-third of all residents are served by the state's primary social service agency. Does this state agency send different messages about citizenship to individuals according to race? We examine this question through encounters of individuals with front-line welfare office staff. Methods. Using a systematic audit method, we collected data from 54 Community Service Offices in Washington State to explore messages sent to individuals. Results. We find consistent relationships between race and the quantity of information received and the quality of the interaction with the representatives of the state. Conclusions. Our findings provide evidence that the state reinforces notions of both belonging and marginalization through patterns of racialized encounters with the state.As the popular media hails the advent of a postracial society in the United States, there is an urgent need to reexamine the ways in which the state shapes racial dimensions of citizenship. Indicators of wealth, education, and health demonstrate that we are clearly living in a society where racial disparities not only remain intact, but are also growing, despite movements to eliminate them. This article explores a different angle on questions of institutionalized racism. How does the state communicate the parameters of citizenship? 1 How might these perceptions shape our understandings of politics, community, claims making, and participation? While these questions are beyond the immediate * Direct correspondence to Rose Ernst,

Observers of U.S. criminal justice trends have noted the vast increase in spending on prison systems over the past 25 years. First, the authors empirically verify that overall spending on corrections not only increased but also that corrections spending grew compared to other budget areas. Second, the authors examine the mechanisms behind this prioritization. The authors posit that race and class dynamics of individual states affects the extent to which corrections spending is prioritized. Race acts as a central cleavage factor while class acts as a secondary cleavage in the political decisionmaking environment. Time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) analysis of state budget outlays between 1984 and 1999 provides strong evidence for this hypothesis. Our findings depart from previous scholarly work devoted to ''underclass'' theories of race and class interactions; the authors uncover a more intricate relationship between race and class. The article demonstrates that the higher the proportion of African Americans in a state, the higher the prioritization of corrections spending. Only in states with low proportions of African Americans does income inequality matter. Keywordsminority group threat, prison-industrial complex, Race and corrections, Race and public opinion, social control theory On May 8, 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue presided at the opening of 4,200 new prison beds in the state of Georgia. Perdue, who recommended the $48 million in the state budget for the construction of these facilities, saluted the opening as ''ultimately

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