Reimagining Reentry: Explorations from the Inside Out

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

“Reentry” is one of the key fields of justice the U.S. must address in the 21st century: how to engage the millions of incarcerated people who reenter the outside world from prisons and jails every year, often with significant barriers to voting, housing, education, employment, and other staples of society that help create strong communities. This course will explore what it means to reimagine reentry, from small, technical questions of policy and programming to the deep moral issues that underlie them. What changes in policy and programming would most help those returning from prison or jail? What are the most transformative new models for thinking about reentry support? What responsibilities do returning citizens have to their communities and governments, and what responsibilities do their communities and governments have to them? Is “reentry” something that starts at the moment of release, or does it begin long before release, and end long after? As part of the national Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, this course will bring together inside students (people incarcerated at the South Bend Community Reentry Center) and outside students (people enrolled at Notre Dame) learning with and from one another and breaking new ground together. Most weeks of the semester Notre Dame students will travel to the Community Reentry Center for class alongside the inside students. All are responsible for the same reading and writing assignments and will participate equally in class activities and discussions, together exploring transformative new models for thinking about reentry. Full attendance is required. Travel to and from the class site provided. Apply online via the Institute for Social Concerns website: socialconcerns.nd.edu/courses.