This seminar explores the integral role of physical imprisonment in shaping social order and influencing cultural attitudes in the U.S. and beyond. We will critically examine how the structured definitions of crime and punishment reflect and reinforce inequalities in society, particularly regarding race, gender, and economic status. Through a blend of first-hand accounts, fictional narratives, theoretical perspectives, and creative projects by and about incarcerated individuals, students will develop a collective understanding of prisons in the contemporary moment. The course will also investigate the concepts of rehabilitation, deterrence, and punishment in prisons, alongside exploring abolitionist movements.Critical Ethnic Studies 2000-level seminars introduce students to the complexities and nuances of intersectionality, gender, disability, decolonial theory & philosophy, in imperialist and non-imperialist societies. 2000-level seminars may incorporate one or more of the following interdisciplinary fields of critical ethnic studies: Africana studies, African-American Studies, Asian American studies, Indigenous studies, Chicano/a /x, and Latino /a/x studies, border studies, cultural studies, critical disability studies, critical gender studies, and global racialized and global silenced communities. Courses can be in-person, hybrid, or online.

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