Books Behind Bars: African American Literature's Response to Mass Incarceration

Many scholars have noted—perhaps most famously Angela Davis—the rise of the prison industrial complex over the latter half of the 20th century, which disproportionately undermined the freedom dreams of Black Americans after the victories of the civil rights movement. This class will address the various methods and forms contemporary Black writers have used to discuss this ever-looming injustice that hangs over Black American life: how it impacts family structures and marriages and has altered various roles—including gender roles—within the Black community.