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AMST 650
INCARCERATION AND JUSTICE IN AMERICA
FALL 20??

W- 4:15 PM to 7:00PM
Shane Bolles Walsh
Sbwalsh@umd.edu
Phone: 240-461-5143


Course Description:

This course will examine the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and its extensive reach within communities in America. Its impact can be felt across race, class, and gender in America. Black and Brown bodies fill these largely private facilities as a result of a complex system of law and governance that is targeted towards juveniles and adults alike. The incarcerated in America are a widely panned group, the aim of this class is to give students access to a readings and other media that will expand their knowledge of this system and the experience of those currently or formerly imprisoned in this country.

Our weekly meetings will be conducted in a seminar style format, with STRONG emphasis on reading discussion and interpretation. We will be using books, articles, websites and documentary films throughout the span of the semester. Students are expected to adhere to the University of Maryland.s honor code when completing assignments during this class and all other while a student at the university.

Throughout the course of the semester we will have several guest speakers. There will be individuals who work within the criminal justice system as LEO's (law enforcement officer, Parole officers, and Case Managers).

Grading Policy: Participation in class discussion 20%. Paper one 20%. Weekly Journal 5% Class discussion leader 5%. Paper two 40% Paper two presentation 10%.

Required Books: These are the required books for this course. They are available for purchase in the campus bookstore, online, or from a library.
Johnson, Paula C. Inner Lives: Voices of African American Women in Prison New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Oshinksy, David M. Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice . New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Williams, Nanon McKewn. Still Surviving. Gardena, CA: Breakout Publishing, 2003.
Shakur, Assata. Assata . Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987.

Required Outside Class Films: These can be found via, Netflix, Amazon, or at a video store. It is the responsibility of the student to view these films outside of class and be prepared to discuss them at length during the appropriate weekly class meeting.
Solitary Confinement. National Geographic. 2010.
Lifers: Stories from Prison . Directed by Sheora McDonald. 2001.
Prisontown: USA . Directed by Katie Galloway and Po Kutchins. 2008.
Inside Supermax . TLC. 2007.
What I Want My Words to Do to You . Directed by Gary Sunshine. 2004.
Turned Out: Sexual Assault behind Bars .Directed by Jonathan Schwartz. 2008.

Week ONE::

Oshinksy, David M. Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Arthur H. Schwartz. "Legal Aspects of Convict Labor." Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology , Vol. 16, No. 2 (Aug., 1925), pp. 272-277.

Week TWO:

Johnson, Paula C.Inner Lives: Voices of African American Women in Prison. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Andrea Smith .Beyond Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life: Women of Color and Reproductive Justice. . NWSA Journal , Vol. 17, No. 1 (spring, 2005), pp. 119-140.

Week THREE:
Williams, Nanon McKewn. Still Surviving. Gardena, CA: Breakout Publishing, 2003.
Lifers: Stories from Prison . Directed by Sheora McDonald. 2001.

Week FOUR:

Shakur, Assata. Assata . Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987.
What I Want My Words to Do to You. Directed by Gary Sunshine. 2004.

Week FIVE:

Angela Y. Davis, "Race and Criminalization: Black Americans and the Punishment Industry," in Lubiano, The House that Race Built. (Vintage, 1998), pp. 264-279.
Solitary Confinement . National Geographic. 2010.

Week SIX:
Christopher J. Lyons, Becky Pettit Compounded Disadvantage: Race, Incarceration Social Problems , Vol. 58, No. 2 (May 2011), pp. 257-280.
SPECIAL CLASS VISITOR TO BE ANNONNCED!

Week SEVEN:

Aliya Saperstein, Andrew M. Penner. "The Race of a Criminal Record: How Incarceration Colors Racial Perceptions." Social Problems , Vol. 57, No. 1 (February 2010), pp. 92-113.
Danielle H. Dallaire. "Incarcerated Mothers and Fathers: A Comparison of Risks for Children and Families." Family Relations , Vol. 56, No. 5 (Dec., 2007), pp. 440-453.

Week EIGHT:

Jeremy Travis, "Invisible Punishment: An Instrument of Social Exclusion," in Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, Invisible Punishment (NY: New Press, 2002): 15-36.
Beth E. Ritchie, "The Social Impact of Mass Incarceration on Women," in Invisible Punishment , 15-36

Week NINE:

Becky Pettit, Bruce Western."Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in U.S." Incarceration American Sociological Review, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Apr., 2004), pp. 151-169.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER TO BE ANNOUNCED

WEEK TEN:

Chase Riveland. "Prison Management Trends, 1975-2025." Crime and Justice , Vol. 26, Prisons (1999), pp. 163-203.
Kenneth Adams. "Adjusting to Prison Life." Crime and Justice , Vol. 16, (1992), pp. 275-359.

Week ELLEVEN:

Donald R. Cressey. "Contradictory Directives in Complex Organizations: The Case of the Prison." Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jun., 1959), pp. 1-19.
Theodore Caplow, Jonathan Simon "Understanding Prison Policy and Population Trends." Crime and Justice, Vol. 26, Prisons (1999), pp. 63-120.

Week TWELVE:

Ernest Goes to Jail. Directed by John R. Cherry III.1990.
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail. Directed by Tyler Perry. 2009

Week THIRTEEN:

Cynthia Young. "Punishing Labor: Why Labor Should Oppose the Prison Industrial Complex." New Labor Forum, No. 7 (Fall - Winter, 2000), pp. 40-52.
Deborah Che. "Constructing a Prison in the Forest: Conflicts over Nature, Paradise, and Identity." Annals of the Association of American Geographers , Vol. 95, No. 4 (Dec., 2005), pp. 809-831.

Week FOURTEEN:

Turned Out: Sexual Assault behind Bars. Directed by Jonathan Schwartz. 2008.
Sasha Gear. "Rules of Engagement: Structuring Sex and Damage in Men's Prisons and Beyond." Culture, Health & Sexuality , Vol. 7, No. 3, African Sexualities (May, 2005), pp. 195-208.

Week FIFTEEN: FINAL PRESENTATIONS

Week SIXTEEN: FINAL PRESENTATION CONT. AND WRAP UP.