Prison Literature

Catalog description

What do we know about prisons? Where do our ideas about prison come from? In this class, we will examine and question cultural representations of incarceration in contemporary society. During the course, we will study primary and secondary materials that challenge us to consider how carceral norms impact people’s lives differently depending on their identities. Looking at literature composed from outside and inside of prisons, we will also consider how various authors and activists have sought to change public opinions about prisons. We will read and interact with texts used as a means of civil disobedience, texts revealing truths often concealed from the public, and texts that challenge societal beliefs about incarceration and the incarcerated.