Description
Book SynopsisEditors Sarah Tyson and Joshua M. Hall convene an international group of philosophical thinkersâfrom both inside and outside prison wallsâwho draw on a variety of historical figures and critical perspectives to think about prisons in our new historical era.
Trade ReviewThe essays were written by faculty, undergraduate philosophy majors, and graduate students who have taught or led discussions on philosophy in prison; the essays also represent the personal reflections of incarcerated men who have studied philosophy in prison. . . .The varied essays may be organized into the following groups: theoretical reflections on the contributions of certain philosophers (Hegel, Foucault, Kant, and Davis), proposals for reforming the system of mass incarceration in the US, reflections by imprisoned men, critiques of the extreme misogyny in men’s prisons, and the role of philosophy in prison. Of all of the essays, the personal reflections concerning the impact of philosophy on the lives and experiences of incarcerated men were the most moving and powerful. Though the book considers the important transformative role of philosophy in prison, other studies point to the greater importance of college in prison programs in reducing recidivism rates. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. * CHOICE *
Philosophy Imprisoned is a unique and often startling reflection on the importance of philosophy and teaching philosophy in prisons. Incorporating essays from prisoners and professional philosophers, this volume shows what philosophy can do even in the direst of circumstances. -- Kelly Oliver, SUNY, Stony Brook
Sarah Tyson and Joshua M. Hall have compiled a diverse collection of writing by philosophers behind bars and beyond them. The book offers important insights into the meaning of thought and action in a world shaped by mass incarceration. By connecting the personal and the theoretical, these reflections on teaching and learning philosophy in prison affirm the importance of the examined life as a practice of freedom and of mutual transformation. -- Lisa Noelle Guenther, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
Philosophy Imprisoned is a disturbing and moving collection of diverse philosophical engagements. Critical prison scholars and educators who teach across prison walls will find much common cause here, but also much to question their complacencies. Philosophers will find nothing less than a radical challenge to academic philosophy and a powerful endorsement of the power of philosophy to transform the world. -- Michael Hames-Garcia, University of Oregon
Table of ContentsPart I: Identity 1. Reforming Me, Philosophy, Timothy Greenlee 2. What’s Wrong with Us?: Outsider Ethics and Mass Incarceration, Chris Lenn 3. Emancipating the Carceral Subject: A Propaedeutic to an Integrated Prison Pedagogy, John Douglas Macready 4. Women Haters Club: Maximized Misogyny in Men’s Prisons and Its Tie to the Patriarchy, Anders “Andy” Benander, III 5. Criminal Masculinity: Male Prisons and the Construction of Gender, Natalie Cisneros 6. Du Bois, Foucault, and Self-Torsion: Criterion of Imprisoned Art, Joshua M. Hall 7. One Foot in Darkness, Spoon Jackson Part Two: Community 8. A Prisoner’s Perspective on Prison, Arlando “Tray” Jones III 9. Awakenings and Seductions: Text, Literacy and the Lived Experience of Fathers in Prison, William Muth and Ginger Walker 10. Hegel Goes to Prison: Punishment, Education, and Mutual Recognition, Eric Anthamatten 11. Unchained Melody: Philosophical Reflections from the Working Classics Program, Michael DeWilde with students Abigail DeHart, Katie Stefanek and Emily Stroka 12. Just Visiting: Epistemic Obstacles to Justice on Death Row, Lisa McLeod 13. Prisoners: “They’re Animals” and Their Animals, Drew Leder with Vincent Greco 14. Organizing Dead Matter into Effective Energy, Andre Pierce 15. Re-humanizing the Inmate: Wacquant on Race-making, Sequestered Spaces, and the Quest for a “We” Narrative, Cynthia Nielsen 16. Free Spirit in the House of the Dead, Atif Rafay 17. Cartesian Meditations: Voice, Body, Mind and Prison, Aislinn O’Donnell and Anonymous Contributors
