Description
Book SynopsisAn edited volume reflecting on different aspects of teaching in prison and different points of view.
This book seeks to address some of the major issues faced by faculty who are teaching college classes for incarcerated students. Composed of a series of case studies meant to showcase the strengths and challenges of teaching a range of different disciplines in prison, this volume brings together scholars who articulate some of the best practices for teaching their expertise inside alongside honest reflections on the reality of educational implementation in a constrained environment. The book not only provides essential guidance for faculty interested in developing their own courses to teach in prisons, but also places the work of higher education in prisons in philosophical context with regards to racial, economic, social, and gender-based issues. Rather than solely a how-to handbook, this volume also helps readers think through the trade-offs that happen when teaching inside, and about how to ensure the full integrity of college access for incarcerated students.
Trade Review“In
Education Behind the Wall, the authors focus on introducing the reader to key issues and processes in these dynamic institutions—higher education and prisons—and suggest more humane approaches to learning and living productively in both.” * Fulbright Chronicles *
“Why teach in prison, how to teach in prison, who is taught in prison—these are the compelling questions that motivate the superb essays in
Education Behind the Wall. Important at both a theoretical and practical level, this is necessary reading whether you are a veteran of prison instruction or you are only now considering the prospect of prison teaching.” -- Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Emerita, Department of Government, Cornell University
"From a resounding forward by Lee Pelton that grounds the importance of college in prison in the bonds between education and democracy, to Mneesha Gellman’s ethically nuanced and politically savvy closing argument, Gellman and her collaborators have given us a superb book that asks the tough questions about why to do this work, and it offers a host of practical answers on how to do it well." -- Daniel Karpowitz, Assistant Commissioner, MN DOC & Special Advisor to Governor Tim Walz
“When you go to prison, it is rare to get a second chance. This book shows why college in prison is so important. The chapters reveal not only opportunities for higher learning, but pathways to change lives.” -- John Yang, former Emerson Prison Initiative student
Table of ContentsForeword
Lee Pelton
Introduction: Making the case for bringing college to prison
Mneesha Gellman
PART I: Why We Teach in Prison
Teaching Literature Inside: The Poet’s Report
Kimberly McLarin and Wendy W. Walters
Days in the Life of a College-in-Prison Professor
Shelly Tenenbaum
Educating Survivors of the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline
Elizabeth Langan
PART II: How We Teach in Prison
Genre-based Writing as Empowering Practice for Incarcerated Students
Stephen Shane
The Logistics of Preparing to Teach Inside
Cara Moyer-Duncan
Paywalls, Firewalls, Prison Walls: Bridging the Digital Divide within the Prison Education System
Christina E. Dent
Economics as Literacy for Life
Sally Moran Davidson
One Foot In, One Foot Out: Senior Theses and Remote Internships in the Prison Space
Justin McDevitt and A.D. Seroczynski
PART III: Who We Teach
“You’da done that, you’da been in here with us”
Bill Littlefield
Learning to Live
Alexander X
Author biographies
Appendix: Recommendations for further study
