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Class number:
2889
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Title: The Prison & Public Humanities |
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Department: American Studies |
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Career: Undergraduate |
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Component: Lecture |
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Session: Regular |
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Instructor's Permission Required: No |
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Grading Basis: Regular |
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Units: 1.00 |
| Enrollment limited to 25 |
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Current enrollment: 23 |
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Available seats: 2 |
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Start date: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 |
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End date: Wednesday, December 23, 2026 |
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Mode of Instruction: In Person |
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Schedule: MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM, MECC - 232 |
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Instructor(s): Camp, Jordan |
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Prerequisite(s): None |
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Distribution Requirement: Meets Humanities & Identity Power Equity Req |
Course Description:
The United States has the world's largest prison population. What historical and spatial processes have led to this calamitous condition? This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationships between racism, mass incarceration, political economy, and the policing of urban space. It prepares students for engaged public intellectual work in American studies, critical geography, urban studies, and social justice advocacy, among other creative applications. Through readings, lectures, and original research, students will acquire an inventory of concepts, including: conjunctures, systemic racism, the carceral state, gender norms, moral panics, mass deportation, policing, security, and the militarization of space. Throughout the course, we will ask: How have carceral resolutions of social and economic crisis been legitimated? How have scholars challenged dominant definitions of mass incarceration? Together, we will explore the dimensions of the problem and what ethical and political alternatives might be possible. |