52-2680 Doing Time in America: An Interdisciplinary Approach

In this class, students will explore prison culture in America by examining the history and philosophy of prisons, and the way prisons are portrayed in literature, film, and television, including popular shows such as Prison Break and OZ. Given America’s fascination with crime and the swelling number of incarcerated individuals (over two million in America), the class raises important questions and issues about poverty and privilege, punishment and redemption. Students will discuss the similarities between prisons and various dissimilar institutions (such as colleges) that also have their own language, rituals, and hierarchy. In addition to readings, screenings, and discussions, the class will host guest speakers (such as a prison guard, a former inmate, a public defender, and a prison minister) who work closely with prison populations. Students will read one novel about crime and punishment in America, as well as articles, essays, stories, poems, prison narratives, song lyrics, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction about prisoners and life behind bars, as well as about the culture that surrounds those incarcerated.

3 Credits
PL HL
Requisites PREREQUISITES: 52-1112 Writing and Rhetoric - Enhanced II or 52-1122 Writing and Rhetoric II for Non-Native Speakers of English or 52-1152 Writing and Rhetoric II or 52-1162 Writing and Rhetoric II- Service Learning