PMA 1120, First-year Writing Seminar:
"You've Got Time": An Introduction to Prison and its Representation
Cornell University, Fall 2014 & Spring 2015
This course focuses on the American penitentiary and “hyper-incarceration,” with a particular emphasis on the writings, performances, and cultural representations of incarcerated people. We will begin by discussing “why we care” about mass incarceration and prison reform, transition to close readings of prisoner artworks, and then analyze examples of the prison genre from film, television, and other media. At the same time, students will develop their critical, creative, and persuasive writing skills through peer and instructor review and a multi-draft essay process. From Jack Henry Abbott to Orange is the New Black, from Blood In, Blood Out to Rhodessa Jones and The Medea Project, this course engages with the most profoundly “othered” space in American history and the humans who fall victim to its logics.
"You've Got Time": An Introduction to Prison and its Representation
Cornell University, Fall 2014 & Spring 2015
This course focuses on the American penitentiary and “hyper-incarceration,” with a particular emphasis on the writings, performances, and cultural representations of incarcerated people. We will begin by discussing “why we care” about mass incarceration and prison reform, transition to close readings of prisoner artworks, and then analyze examples of the prison genre from film, television, and other media. At the same time, students will develop their critical, creative, and persuasive writing skills through peer and instructor review and a multi-draft essay process. From Jack Henry Abbott to Orange is the New Black, from Blood In, Blood Out to Rhodessa Jones and The Medea Project, this course engages with the most profoundly “othered” space in American history and the humans who fall victim to its logics.
| Sample syllabus |
