Course Info

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Course Info for AMST - 223 - 01, Fall 2022
Class number: 2888 Title: The Prison & Public Humanities Department: American Studies
Career: Undergraduate Component: Lecture Session: Regular
Instructor's Permission Required: No Grading Basis: Regular Units: 1.00
Enrollment limited to 25 Current enrollment: 25 Available seats: 0
Start date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 End date: Wednesday, December 21, 2022 Mode of Instruction: In Person
Schedule: TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM, SH - S204 Instructor(s): Camp, Jordan
Prerequisite(s): None
Distribution Requirement: Meets Humanities Requirement
Course Description:
The United States has the world's largest prison population. This course interrogates the structures and processes that have led to this calamitous condition. It introduces students to public humanities approaches to understanding the problem of mass incarceration. It prepares students for engaged public intellectual work in oral history, journalism, and social justice advocacy, among other creative applications. Through readings, lectures, and original research, students will acquire an inventory of concepts, including: systemic racism, the carceral state, policing, and security. Throughout the course, we will ask: How have carceral resolutions of social and economic crisis been legitimated? How have public humanities 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.