TOPICS: PRISON EDUCATION WORKSHOP in Fall 2019 (LW3091B)

Juniors and seniors are welcome to apply to take a course in which they learn alongside incarcerated students at a French prison. This course takes place at the Centre Pénitentiaire Paris La Santé, a newly renovated prison in the 14th arrondissement. Ten AUP students will learn alongside ten incarcerated students. Professors Kuo, Wu, Taieb will accompany students to the prison once a week. Following class, faculty will continue de-briefing with students.

Each student will create a project tentatively called “Storytelling in History and Life.” All students will read common texts related to memoir, creative nonfiction, and primary sources in history. Their final, culminating project involves either writing memoir or a creative short story based on historical research. The classes will occur simultaneously in French and English, and texts will include both French and English texts.

This potentially transformative form of experiential learning will equip students with a comparative perspective on incarceration, a defining problem of our age. It will allow students to explore and negotiate difference, deepen their perspectives on punishment, and engage with their environment in Paris. This course joins a growing trend of college-prison partnerships in the United States.

This course has a limited number of spots. To obtain an application, please email Michelle Kuo (mkuo@aup.edu) and Albert Wu (awu@aup.edu).