Forgotten Hum of Prisoners

1 Credit · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Fyodor Dostoyevsky famously wrote that “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” Yet today it is almost impossible for members of free society to go inside of prison walls, much less to interact with incarcerated people as human beings. This 1-credit UNXD course will prepare a select group of Georgetown seniors for life after graduation by exposing them to this forgotten and ignored element of our humanity. It is an extraordinary experience that they will cherish and that will inspire them for the rest of their lives. The course will include approximately six 2-hour sessions at the DC Jail (mainly in February-April), which will be held jointly with a similarly-sized group of incarcerated students from the Georgetown Prison Scholars Program. The sole required reading is Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, which will prepare students to understand the background surrounding poverty, crime, race, and incarceration, as well as the dynamics of prison life. Students will work in mixed (i.e., inside and outside students together) groups to create a joint small creative project at the end of the course.