The US Criminal Justice System in Urban Context

1 Course Unit

With over two million Americans behind bars and over seven million under some form of state supervision, the United States leads the world in incarceration. From an interdisciplinary perspective, this course will examine the special attention given to how penal issues--including the recent prison boom and the privatization of prison, white supremacy and the racial disparity of the inmate population, juvenile criminal justice, alternative sentencing, prisoner health, and the punishment of military veterans, immigrants, and women in prisons--impact urban communities and contexts. Students will hear from guest speakers who were formerly incarcerated, and attend a field trip to a facility to see first-hand examples of the criminal justice system. Spring 1 Course Unit