Prisoner Writings & Activism

Catalog description

This course examines the relationship between the writings (e.g., books, biographies, letters, songs, poetry, plays, court statements, prisoner manifestos, grievances, class actions suits, articles, essays), speeches, and activism of pint@s (prisoners and former prisoners), civil rights and human rights movements in the U.S. post-1950 (e.g., African American, Asian, Native American, Anti-Colonial, Latin@, Women’s, LGBT rights), and the response of local, state, and federal authorities to calls for reforms, self-determination, and revolution. It also explores how pint@s labeled “common criminals” (e.g., Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, Piri Thomas, Raúl Salinas) and those labeled “political prisoners” (e.g., Assata Shakur, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Fannie Lou Hamer) have: (a) been influenced by human rights movements and other pint@s inside and outside the U.S. (e.g., Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Pedro Albizu Campos, Lolita Lebrón, Mahatma Gandhi), and, (b) how they have, in turn, inspired and energized the activism of such movements and contributed to the development of their ideologies and praxis. Required Videos (e.g., documentaries, films, news programs, late night talk shows, and other visual sources) will complement Required Readings. Students are expected to be in class when required videos are shown. Guest lecturers may be invited to address the class.