TO:



TO: Beth Dobkin, Provost

FROM: Mindy Thomas, Chair

Academic Senate

DATE: March 9, 2017

RE: Senate Action S-16/17-44CA

POL 131 Politics of Imprisonment,

Permanent Approval

At the March 8, 2017 meeting of the Academic Senate, the proposal for permanent approval of POL 131 Politics of Imprisonment was accepted on the Consent Agenda. This item was approved by the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee at its February 27, 2017 meeting by a vote of 8-0-0.

This action was assigned Senate Action # S-16/17-44CA.

Attachment

Cc: President James A. Donahue

Dean Sheila Hassell Hughes

Course Proposal for permanent status: POL 131

1. Course information

School: SOLA Department Politics Course Number: POL 131

Course Name: Politics of Imprisonment Instructor: Ronald Ahnen

2. Justification for the course:

This course was developed to provide greater depth into a growing area of government: incarceration. The State of California alone spends roughly 9% of its annual budget on the state prison system amounting to $11 billion. At the same time, counties have expanded jail space and private prisons have mushroomed. While U.S. prison population peaked in 2009 and retracted slowly in the last decade, new signs demonstrate that the prison industry is recovering. We offer this course as a way for students not only to analyze and judge this important part of our criminal justice system, but also to understand the links between incarceration and other social problems such as poverty, unemployment, and racism.

This course has been cross listed as an Ethnic Studies course and will continue to be so listed, helping to support that new major. In addition, I plan on applying for permanent qualification for the core curriculum both in the Common Good and American Diversity areas. The last time I taught this course as a topics course, I was granted provisional status for these areas. The course will qualify as a course in the American subfield of Politics and thus can help fulfill one of the major and minor requirements (an upper division course in each subfield), as well as serve as an elective for students to finish the major.

The course uniquely integrates visits to incarcerating institutions and welcomes several guest speakers from various fields and perspectives on incarceration. We generally visit San Quentin State Prison, the Martinez County Jail (downtown facility), and the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro. The comparison and contrast of these institutions provide a rich basis for discussion and analysis in light of our class readings. While the exact number of speakers has altered the past two times I have taught this course as a topics course in the department, I have invited police officers, parole officers, prison guards, formerly incarcerated men and women, representatives of prisoner rights’ organizations, the Contra Costa County district attorney, county jail administrators, expert witness psychologist testifying on prison conditions, etc. The goal of the course is to integrate our class readings with what we experience at the institutions, hear from our speakers, and discover through our research so that we can draw tentative conclusions about the role of incarceration in our society today and what can be done about it.

3. Objectives of the course:

The learning objectives of the course from the syllabus are these:

1) Understand the causal factors shaping the prison boom over the past four decades and why this boom appears to have reached its zenith and is now in decline (if present trends continue).

2) Understand key polemical issues related to the correctional systems in California and the US, especially the interrelationship among crime rate, incarceration rates, race, ethnicity, gender, poverty, and economic opportunity.

3) Enhance direct personal knowledge of prison and post-prison life through tours at three or four facilities and direct interactions with prisoners, ex-prisoners, and non-profit activists/organizers who work in this arena.

4) Analyze aspects of social diversity (e.g., ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and political identity) and how they affect incarceration rates, patterns, and outcomes in the United States. Fulfills American Diversity Requirement.

5) Explain how social categories and structures of power may affect incarceration patterns. Fulfills American Diversity Requirement.

5) Demonstrate a capacity for coherent, principled analysis of criminal justice policy, especially politics of incarceration. Fulfills Common Good Core Curriculum Requirement

6) Articulate in prose a critical account of US or California criminal justice policy as it relates to incarceration. Fulfills Common Good Core Curriculum Requirement

These objectives help to fulfill the objectives of the Department, School, and College by breaking down the barriers between the “us” and “them” of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, putting value to each and every individual person, and to call into question for analysis the social norms, habits, and institutions that recreate and form patterns of social injustice in our society today. This course accentuates areas where social justice is lacking, and points to avenues that individuals and groups can take to help heal our society.

4. Assessment

The students react to the assigned reading each day by positing a critical reflection on the reading and posing a question that can serve to launch a discussion in the classroom. In addition, the students write two “integrated reflective essays” in which they choose a single topic and reflect on how their knowledge and attitudes of that topic have changed due to their

1) reading about it, 2) experience at institutional visits, 3) hearing guest speakers talk about it, and 4) doing research on their own. The essays are reflective in nature, but require that students gather ideas and information from different ways of coming to knowledge and to compare and contrast those sources of information. Finally, students carry out a group research project on a key topic having to do with incarceration (eg, prison gangs, rehabilitation, or solitary confinement). The project requires a 16 to 20 page paper along with a 20 minute group presentation of four students.

5. Student Population

The majority of students in this class will be Politics and Ethnic Studies majors. However, I do get some psychology and business majors in this course as well, and I hope that will continue as I transition to the new core curriculum with this course. This course is offered every other year and generally enrolls 15 to 20 students.

6. Upper Division Criteria

The course is an in-depth look at the politics of incarceration. We focus on actors, their interests, their resources, and how actors ally both with and against other actors to serve their interests. The level of writing expected in the course is on par for upper division classes in the department, and students must participate with a strong critical eye toward the readings,

guest speakers, and others. Importantly, I ensure that the students will be exposed to many different viewpoints, which tends to happen when you invite cops, prosecutors, guards, and parole officers on the one hand, and formerly incarcerated individuals, prisoner rights activists, prison abolitionists, and defense lawyers, on the others. Such a balance allows the students to see the many different sides to these issues and draw their own conclusions based on their research, experiences, and critical thinking.

7. Relationship to Present College Curriculum

This is an American politics class and thus fits into Group 1 of our departmental courses. As stated above, both majors and minors must take an American politics upper division course, or they may use this course as an elective. In addition, the course counts as an Ethnic Studies class.

This class is closest to SOC 124 Justice and Community, and at times we have even had some readings that overlap (eg, Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow). Having said that, I have been in close touch with John Ely, and we have discussed at length our theoretical approaches to this topic. John and I draw on differing literatures from the sociological and political science literatures, and are convinced that the courses do not overlap. Indeed, a very bright student I had recently in this class noted that she had also taken John Ely’s course and confirmed that our courses are quite distinct.

8. Extraordinary Implementation

The only extraordinary implementation for this course is a course fee of $40.00 that pays for transportation costs and allows me to provide very small stipends to guest speakers. The department schedules the course on MWF right after the Community Time slot so that we have enough time to arrive at and tour the facilities we visit on some Wednesdays (non Shared Mission Event days, of course). In this way, the the maximum number of students are able to make the visits to the institutions with the least amount of disruption to other classes.

9. Library review is attached.

10. Course Credit and grading options

This is a 1 credit course only. Students spend a little more than usual time during three weeks of the course to visit the institutions noted above. Generally this class meets three days a week. When we have guest speakers, we allow the speaker to speak for up to 30 or 40 minutes and then turn toward question and answer. On other days, we concentrate our discussion in seminar like format (never lecture) on the readings, or reflecting on our most recent visit or guest speaker. The course is offered for a normal letter grade.

11. Prerequisites

There are not specific prerequisites, but the course is not open to first year students, which is normal for our department. Generally, first year students are encouraged to take our four lower division courses instead of upper division courses.

12. Course description for course catalog:

POL 131: Politics of Imprisonment. An examination of the factors behind the prison boom of the last decades and its timid retraction. This course integrates academic studies on incarceration with tours of incarcerating institutions (San Quentin State Prison, a county jail, and a juvenile justice center) and direct interaction with present and formerly incarcerated individuals, criminal justice professionals, and activists working for prisoner rights. Major themes include the relation of incarceration to race, poverty, gender, and the links between government policy, for-profit businesses, and human rights organizations. Offered in alternate years. Course is not open to freshmen.Course fee $40.

13. The syllabus is attached from the last time I offered the class as POL 109 (Fall 2015). I am just coming back from sabbatical and did not have time to rework this syllabus for the next time it will be offered, which will be Spring of 2018.

14. Review of Experimental Offering

This course began as a Jan Term course. I taught it twice in Jan Term, and then later migrated the course to the Department, offering it most recently in the Fall of 2013 and Fall of 2015 as a topics course in American Politics (109). The course has stayed relatively stable in terms of assignments and experiences, though we have visited other institutions at times including Solano State Prison in Vacaville and the West County Detention Facility in Contra Costa County instead San Quentin and the Martinez Jail. Some of those logistical matters lie beyond my control as to whether they can accept our visit on a day that works for us.

In the beginning, I had students working at non-profit organizations in the Bay Area that work on prisoner rights as CILSA encouraged me to have a service learning component to the class. Those did not work out well for a variety of reasons, and over time I decided that it too difficult to maintain the course as service learning. Most of the non-profits that work on prisoner rights issues, for example, do not have the staff to manage volunteers adequately, and those that are more professional are busy managing their interns. An additional change I made over time is to ensure that I had an adequate balance of viewpoints among our guest speakers, which helped a lot to enliven discussion.

This course has been well received. One former student obtained her Masters in Social Work and informed me that she is now working in prisoner re-entry in San Diego inspired by taking my course. Another student recently wrote me from the Bronx where she is working as a volunteer with the LaSallian volunteer corps and expressed how clearly she sees the connections between our discussions and the lives of the people with whom she is working.

Respectfully submitted,

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Ronald Ahnen

Letter from the Politics Department Chair

February 10, 2017

To: UEPC Committee Members From: Ronald Ahnen, Chair

Politics Department

I confirm that I discussed this course with all faculty members of my department and asked them about making it a permanent course at our recent day long departmental retreat in January. The department members were unanimous in their support of my moving forward with making this a permanent course. Many members mentioned that they heard very positive and even life changing reports back from students and feel that the course is now already an integral part of our course offerings.

Sincerely,

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Ronald Ahnen

Library Resources Review

For the course: Politics of Imprisonment (Pol 109)

This report was written up in response to a request by Professor Ron Ahnen who wishes to bring his proposal to the UEPC. The course has been taught previously.

I. Library Resource Needs

A. Faculty Course Preparation: There are five required texts for the course.

B. Reserve Readings and film/videos for reserve: none indicated for this class

C. Types of materials needed for student assignments. There are five required texts for the course. There is a group research report due at the end of the semester of no less than 15 pages, focusing on the politics of imprisonment. The research paper requires a minimum of ten sources of which four must be peer-reviewed journal articles or books.

II. Currently Available Library Resources

A. Reference Materials: The Library provides general resources on prisons and prison systems with such titles as Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (2012), Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia (2006), and Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities (2005). The Library also has access to online reference encyclopedias through Gale Virtual Reference Library, Oxford Reference Online, and Sage e-Reference. The reference collection is adequate for the needs of this course.

B. Books: The Library has a general collection of books and other materials relating to prisons and punishment. In addition, the Library is a part of the Link+ network to retrieve more specific materials not owned by SMC. The Library also has a new tool called Albert Plus that searches the library holdings plus approximately sixty of our databases. The Library’s collection is adequate for the needs of this course.

C. Scholarly literature: The Library subscribes to multiple social science periodical and subject databases, with many including full access to a wide variety of articles. These include: Academic OneFile, CIAO, Sociological Abstracts, Academic Search Complete, Lexis-Nexis Academic, Access World News, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, and PAIS International. The Library now has a new Multisearch tool called Albert Plus that searches the library holdings, plus the scholarly and popular articles from approximately sixty of our databases. These databases are sufficient for the research indicated in the syllabus.

D. Periodicals/Journals: The Library subscribes to over one thousand politics related periodicals/journals. Examples of journals that the Library subscribes to that focus on prisons and imprisonment include: Aggression and Violent Behavior, Journal of Social Work, Punishment and Society: The International Journal of Penology, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society, and Crime, Law, and Social Change. The full subscription list is sufficient for the research needs of the students.

E. Media/Videos: The Library subscribes to three online streaming video collections: Academic Video Online (VAST), Kanopy, and Films on Demand. All offer films relating to social sciences and warfare.

F. Additional Periodicals as requested

None

III. Materials Need to be Purchased by the Library

The Library only owns one of the required texts for this course. The remaining four will be purchased as soon as possible. The cost is easily absorbed by the library through the acquisitions process in place which allocates a budget to all the disciplines.

IV. Opportunities to Develop Information Literacy Skills

The group research paper looks rigorous! The requirement is for at least ten outside sources, four of which must be peer-reviewed journals or books. I am available for a library session, and welcome being able to work with these students in order to aid their development in information literacy and critical thinking skills.

Susan Birkenseer

Reference and Instruction Librarian Saint Mary’s College

February, 2017

POL 109-01 Politics of Imprisonment

(cross listed as ES 109)

Prof. Ronald Ahnen MWF 11:45-12:50 Dante 204

201 Garaventa Hall, 631-4584 Email: rahnen@stmarys-ca.edu Office Hours: MF 2:00 to 3:00pm Phone: 925-381-5504 (not after 9 p.m.) AND by appointment

Nature of the Course

Some facts: The U.S. prison population increased by 825% between 1972 and 2010, jumping from 174,379 to 1,613,800. Along with 748,700 persons in jail, the apogee of mass incarceration in 2010 reached 2,279,100 or nearly 1 percent of all adults in the country. Adding the 4,887,900 people on probation or parole, a total of 7,088,500 people or about 1 in 33 adults were under some sort of supervision of our criminal justice system. This trend has recently reversed and was followed by three straight years of declines. The entire incarcerated population stood at 2,220,300 in 2013 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, various years). California accounts for 51% of the decline in state prison populations, reducing the number of prisoners in the state from a high of 173,000 in 2006 to 128,367 today due to a Supreme Court Order. With respect to these statistics, race matters a great deal. About one in three African American males between the ages of 20 and 29 is either in prison or jail, or on probation or parole. For Hispanics, the same statistic is 1 in 10, while for whites, it is 1 in 15. In 2004, 672,000 persons were released from state or federal prison, or about 1,841 each day. Most state and federal prisons have cut funding for programs to prepare prisoners for release, however, and most institutions have few or no programs to help newly released inmates find housing and employment. These few statistics and facts alone provide the launching pad for a myriad of crucial research questions focused on understanding the social, economic, and above all political factors that shape these trends.

Core Curriculum: This course fulfills the common good and American diversity requirements of the core curriculum.

Learning Goals:

1) Understand the causal factors shaping the prison boom over the past four decades and why this boom appears to have reached its zenith and is now in decline (if present trends continue).

2) Understand key polemical issues related to the correctional systems in California and the US, especially the interrelationship among crime rate, incarceration rates, race, ethnicity, gender, poverty, and economic opportunity.

3) Enhance direct personal knowledge of prison and post-prison life through tours at three or four facilities and direct interactions with prisoners, ex-prisoners, and non-profit activists/organizers who work in this arena.

4) Analyze aspects of social diversity (e.g., ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and political identity) and how they affect incarceration rates, patterns, and outcomes in the United States. Fulfills American Diversity Requirement.

5) Explain how social categories and structures of power may affect incarceration patterns. Fulfills American Diversity Requirement.

5) Demonstrate a capacity for coherent, principled analysis of criminal justice policy, especially politics of incarceration. Fulfills Common Good Core Curriculum Requirement

6) Articulate in prose a critical account of US or California criminal justice policy as it relates to incarceration. Fulfills Common Good Core Curriculum Requirement

The course will be structured in a seminar style with substantial interaction among students regarding reading material and their reflections on our visits to corrections facilities and various guest speakers. Students are required to draw both from the reading material and their experiences to formulate, explore

and research key issues regarding the corrections system. In groups of four or five, students will develop a specific research topic and investigate that issue more fully and deeply throughout the course. The final project is a joint research project that each group will present to the class.

Required Texts:

Alexander, Michelle. 2010. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press. (ISBN 978-1-59558-103-7)

Austin, James and John Irwin. 2012. It’s About Time: America’s Imprisonment Binge, 4th edition.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers. (ISBN 978-0-534-61596-3)

George, Erin. A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women. Oxford University Press. (ISBN 978-0-19-973475-7)

Gottschalk, Marie. 2015. Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics. Princeton University Press. (ISBN: 978-0-691-16405-2)

Hartman, Kenneth. 2009. Mother California. Persus. (ISBN: 9781595586438) (out of print)

Student Disability Services:

Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint May’s website: services.html

Ask a Librarian!!

Need library sources but don't know where to start? Searching for a book, article, or data to inform your argument? Not sure how to cite a source in your bibliography? Ask a librarian! Research help is available in person at the Reference Desk, by phone at 925-631-4624, and during reference hours you can even text a librarian at 925-235-4762 or chat with us live via the Library's website. Check the Library’s Ask Us page for details. (). Extended assistance by appointment is also available with Sue Birkenseer: sbirkens@stmarys-ca.edu, 925-631-4255.

Course Requirements:

1. Attendance and Participation (25%)

Since this is not a lecture class, students must come well prepared to class and be ready to discuss critically the issues they see arising from the readings and their own investigations. Students may be absent for no more than three class sessions without affecting their grade. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Nevertheless, attendance alone will not constitute a passing grade for this requirement. Students absent for more than nine sessions will generally not pass the course. I will keep track of participation much like the Collegiate Seminar model with daily participation grades.

Classroom environment. Discussing the politics of public safety policies can, as with many political topics, become emotionally charged especially as we deal with issues of class, gender, race, poverty, justice, etc. Most of the books written on this topic are written from a specific political viewpoint with a clear political agenda in mind. Students and the instructor may have had direct experiences already dealing with crime, arrest, jail, or state prison institutions, encouraging greater confidence in one's views or positions. Some of us have friends or family members presently locked behind bars. Some of us have been perpetrators or victims of crime. Thus, we must take extra care to create an atmosphere in which all of us respect and are open to the opinions of others in the classroom, whether we agree (in whole or part) or disagree with what is said. Respect for each other and being aware of issues of racism, sexism, and

class privilege are paramount. Students and the instructor shall share and discuss their ideas, opinions, thoughts, and questions in ways that are thoughtful and respectful of each other.

2. Reaction to readings via Forum. (15%)

To ensure students are reading closely and to get the conversation started, each student will log in to Moodle on most days and submit an inspiring comment and/or question of about three to five sentences with respect to one or two key points addressed in the readings. Your post should be a reaction to the reading, a comparison of the readings, and/or pose important questions for the class to discuss at the next session based on the readings and/or previous guest speaker or off-campus visit. Posts are due before 7 am the day of class (for most students this should be the night before). Students can start a new forum topic or continue another student's topic with their comment. Comments are graded every day based on a 0-4 scale. 4 is exceptional, 3 is very good, 2 is satisfactory, 1 is below expectation and 0 is no credit. Note that forum reactions are not required on some days (marked with an asterisk). At the end of the semester, students may drop their lowest two grades (ie, skip two days).

3. Integrated Reflection Essays (30% - 15% each)

Each student will write two essays that integrate the insights gained from 1) readings in the course up until that time, 2) visits to correctional facilities, 3) guest speakers, and 4) outside research. The integrated reflection essay must include the student’s personal insights after having visited an institution or listened to a guest speaker, and must relate those insights to the opinions and facts presented by various authors we have read in the class or beyond. The essay should be 6 to 10 pages of text in length with a specific topic or theme. Students must carry out some additional research (at least three new sources) for these essays. Essays must be written in essay format--that is, in third person, referential style with a clear thesis, an organized body and structure to support that thesis, and a conclusion that explores implications of the thesis. All essays must have the correct form and format: title page, bibliography, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman 12 font, double spaced, and paginated. Due dates are on the course schedule. All papers are handed in electronically through Moodle. No hard paper copies needed.

4. Final Research Project (30%)

In groups of three or four, students will be working throughout the semester on a group research project. The project can begin in a few weeks, once we have had a chance to review some of the major issues concerning the politics of imprisonment. A handout with deadlines on various required steps throughout the project will be provided. Topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructor. The final research report will be no less than 15 pages (double spaced, Times New Roman 12 font with 1 inch margins), and will include tables, figures, page numbers, a title page and a bibliography. At least 10 outside resources are required for this project including at least four peer reviewed articles or books. For class presentation purposes, a media presentation (Powerpoint, Prezi, etc) that includes key tables and figures and a summary overview of the main arguments of the paper is required.

Group work can be scary for some because each student’s grade depends in part on the effort and work of other individuals in the group. Students must take responsibility for pitching in and doing their part so that the final group project is of the highest quality possible. At the end of the course, students will have the opportunity to evaluate themselves and every other person in the group with respect to effort, d cooperation. In cases where a group is unable to function after trying to resolve severe difficulties, students should approach the instructor about the problem in a timely fashion.

Off-campus visits – This class has at least three off-campus visits integrated into the course. These visits are an integral part of the course and are critical to obtaining a fuller understanding of the methods, conditions, and politics of incarceration. Our visit to San Quentin State Prison, Martinez or West County Detention Facility (county jail), and Alameda Juvenile Justice Center (San Leandro) require that all students provide clearance information to the authorities prior to the visit. Students who have special

concerns with respect to these visits should address them to the instructor either in class or privately during office hours. We may also consider visiting Solano State Prison in Vacaville.

Grading:

The final grade will be calculated as follows: Attendance and Participation 25% Online comments 15%

Integrated Reflection Essays 30% (15% each)

Final Project & Presentation 30% (25% project and 5% on presentation)

Lateness policy:

Work that is handed in after class on the day an assignment is due will be penalized 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late (eg, B+ → B). No matter how late an assignment is, handing it in late is always better than taking a zero. Please be advised that computer failure is not an acceptable excuse for lateness. I suggest using Google Drive to back up your work.

Moodle:

All students are required to use Moodle for this course. All written work will be handed in electronically in a Moodle acceptable format and will be automatically checked with , a plagiarism detection software program. I also make class announcements, add/alter/change reading assignments, and provide copies of all handouts for this class on Moodle. If you miss any class period or come late to class and miss a reading change or announcement, it is your responsibility to check Moodle for anything you may have missed.

Academic Integrity:

Honor Code: “Your own work, your own words”

Saint Mary’s College expects every member of its community to abide by the Academic Honor Code. According to the Code, “Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of College policy because, among other things, it undermines the bonds of trust and honesty between members of the community.” Violations of the Code include but are not limited to acts plagiarism. For more information, please consult the Student Handbook at stmarys-ca.edu/your-safety-resources/student-handbook.

Plagiarism

All of your work must meet normal minimum standards for college level work, including the avoidance of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use or appropriation of someone else’s ideas or words without proper citation, and presenting those words and ideas as one’s own. Note that intention is not included as a part of this definition. Proper citation of a direct quote includes 1) the use of quotation marks for any three or more words obtained directly from another source, and 2) proper bibliographical information including page numbers. Proper citation of general ideas includes proper bibliographical information, often without page numbers. The basic standard you are applying here is the following: “Is what I have written my own words and ideas or do they belong to someone else?” If they belong to someone else, you MUST attribute those ideas or words to the proper source. If you have any questions on this matter, please see me or ask about it in class.

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction

8/31: Introduction*

9/2: Austin and Irwin (Chapters 1 and 2) 9/4: Hartman (Section 1: 1-49)

Gottschalk (Chapter 1)

Week 2: A story and the story of incarceration

9/7: LABOR DAY – NO CLASS

9/9: Hartman (Section 2: 49-96)

Gottschalk (Chapter 2)

9/11: Hartman (Section 3: 96-152)

Gottschalk (Chapter 3)

Week 3: Everyday prison life

9/14: Hartman (Section 4: 152 to end); visit & 9/16: Guest speaker: Jerry Alster* (All of Us or None)

9/18: Austin and Irwin (Chapters 4 and 5) Samuel.robinson2@cdcr. 455-5008

Week 4: The California System

9/21: Petersilia, "Understanding California Corrections" (Chapter 1 to 3) (Moodle) 9/23: Visit to San Quentin State Prison*

9/25: George (chapters 1 to 3)

Week 5: Women Behind Bars

9/28: George (Chapters 6 and 7)

Gottschalk (Chapter 4)

9/30: George (Chapter 4 and 8)

Austin and Irwin (Chapter 3: 60-64 only)

10/2: Guest speaker: Misty Rojo on women's prisons*

George (9 and 10)

Week 6: Solitary Confinement

10/5 Austin and Irwin (Chapter 6) George (Chapter 5)

10/7: Ahnen, "The Success and Limits of the California Prison Hunger Strikes: 2011-2013" Beard, Op Ed, “Hunger Strike In California Prisons Is a Gang Power Play”

10/9: Guest speaker: Terry Kupers, MD*

Week 7: Jail Politics

10/12: RR: TBD (Realignment, Jail Expansion, Treatment Programs) 10/14: Visit Martinez Detention Facility (County Jail)*

10/16: Guest Speaker on Politics of Jail Expansion vs. Treatment*

First integrated reflection essay due

Week 8: Race and Incarceration

10/19: Alexander (Introduction and Chapter 1) 10/21: Alexander (Chapters 2 and 3)

Austin and Irwin (Chapter 9, 196-203)

10/23: FALL BREAK – NO CLASS*

Week 9: Race and Incarceration

10/26: Alexander (Chapter 4 and 5)

10/28: Gottschalk (Chapters 6 and 7) 10/30: Guest speaker: Dorsey Nunn*

Week 10: Incarcerating Special Groups: Juveniles and Immigrant

11/2: Austin and Irwin (Chapter 3, 49-60), TBD

11/4: Visit to Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center*

11/6: Gottschalk (Chapter 10) – Undocumented (Illegal?) Immigrants

Week 11: Sentencing and Recidivism

11/9: Austin and Irwin (Chapter 8) Gottschalk (Chapter 5)

11/11: Gottschalk (Chapter 8)

Austin and Irwin (Chapter 9, 207-221) 11/13: Guest Speaker: Mark Peterson, D.A.*

Week 12: Special Topics

11/16: Austin and Irwin (Chapters 7) – Private Prisons 11/18: Gottschalk (Chapter 9) – Sex Offenders

ustin and Irwin (Chapter 9, pages 221-227)

11/20: Gottschalk (Chapter 11) – Prison and Social Inequality

Second integrated reflection essay due

Week 13: Capital Punishment

11/23: Death Penalty readings (Moodle)

11/25: THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS*

11/27: THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS*

Week 14: What to do?

11/30: Alexander (Chapter 6)

Austin and Irwin (Chapter 10, 230-245) 12/2: Gottschalk (Chapter 12)

Austin and Irwin (Chapter 10, 245-263) 12/4: Class evaluation and student presentations*

Final Exam Period

12/9: Wednesday, 10:30am-12:30pm* Student Presentations

Final written projects due in class

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