"We believe that, by studying together and working on issues of crime, justice, and related social concerns, those of us inside and outside of prison can catalyze the kinds of changes that will make our communities more inclusive, just, humane, and socially sustainable.” The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program Vision Statement
Swarthmore College is a proud member of the global network of institutions offering classes under The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program started over 20 years ago as a way to bring college students and incarcerated students together for a semester-long transformational learning experience held in a correctional setting.
The Inside-Out model is inspired by the premise that, “our society is strengthened when higher education/learning is made widely accessible and, at the same time, when it allows participants to encounter each other as equals, often across profound social barriers.” (The Inside-Out Website)
Inside-Out 2018 cohort
“This class has impacted me in many ways, emotionally, mentally and morally. It has taught me to fight for what is right as well as what you believe in. I have learned that there are people that are concerned about problems that you feel no one pays attention to. There is concern and kindness in this world. And, if you look you will find people like Dr. Reeves and his wonderful students who want to help change the system, change the government, and change the views of the ignorant. One step, one day at a time is all it takes for one person to change something as small as a thought to as big as a law. Rise and Rise Again Until the Lamb Becomes the Lion.” —Inside Student 2016
Swarthmore currently offers three courses related to the politics of punishment in two departments and anticipates expanding this number in the coming semesters.
SOCI 048I. Race and Place: A Philadelphia Story
Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and spatial inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major theoretical approaches and empirical investigations of racial and ethnic stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the impact at the local level in Philadelphia. We will focus particular attention on the role of narrative and racialized discourse in relation to the distribution of an array of economic, social, and political resources to city residents.
Prerequisite: Must have permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2017. Johnson.
POLS 070C. Philosophy and Politics of Punishment
The question of why the United States has become a vastly more punitive society—nearly 8 million Americans have served time in state or federal prison; 20 million individuals have a felony conviction; and approximately one-third of the total population will be arrested by age 23—is the subject of this seminar.
The aim of the seminar is to provide both critical and in-depth exploration of the interplay among philosophical questions and how it affects dominant theories -- most principally, "Why we punish?" and contemporary criminal justice policy.
Social Sciences.
1.5 credit.
Spring 2018. Berger. Reeves.
POLS 070B. Politics of Punishment
The question of why the United States has become a vastly more punitive society—some 2.3 million Americans are held in jails and prisons throughout this country, at last count-is the subject of this upper-level division seminar. The aim of the seminar is to provide both a critical and in-depth exploration of the interplay among American electoral politics, public concerns regarding crime, and criminal justice policy. Among the central questions we will examine are: How is it that so many Americans are either locked up behind bars or under the supervision of the criminal justice system? And where did the idea of using "jails" and "prisons" as instruments of social and crime control come from? What are the implications of such political practices for broader questions of racial, economic, and social justice? And importantly, what are the prospects for reform of America's incarceration complex?
Enrollment only by permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1.5 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2019. Reeves.
Students on their way to the Chester Correctional Facility
"'Politics of Punishment' was the most transformative experience of my academic career. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the course was the bond forged between Inside and Outside students. As early as the first session, we connected with one another based on shared values and experiences, love of TV shows and iconic figures, and, most profoundly, through our engagement with our texts and class discussions. Within the walls of SCI Chester, we created a sacred space where we could bear our vulnerabilities and strengths, and listen to, support and inspire one another. It was as we formed these bonds that we simultaneously began to understand the brokenness of our legal and criminal justice system and the complex web of policies that entangle and immobilize huge swaths of black and brown communities. In doing so, not only did I come to realize that 'There but for the grace of God go I,' but given so, it is my, and our responsibility, to begin to work to dismantle system that has failed so many of our brothers and sisters." —Outside Student 2017