THE 2218 - Prison Arts

Credits: 3

Description: The course provides a background into the culture and logic of the United States prison system, analyzing the prison as a complex set of social relations that both “reform” and “perform.” Students investigate the compositional, ideological, and aesthetic dimensions of retributive, restorative, and transformative justice as manifest in the U.S. prison system. This examination has a particular focus on the role of the performing arts in each of these approaches to justice. Students reflect critically on their own intentions and interest in socially-based arts practice, with particular focus on “mutuality.” We continue to interrogate the questions: What happens when the prison encounters the artist? What happens when the artist encounters the prison?

General Studies: Social and Behavioral Sciences