{"id":2172,"date":"2020-11-20T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T23:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/prison-education-project-brings-poetry-philosophy-and-physics-to-the-incarcerated\/"},"modified":"2024-05-20T16:32:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T23:32:55","slug":"prison-education-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/prison-education-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3353-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3353-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Students and faculty participating in the USC Dornsife Prison Education Project (PEP) pose for a photo outside Chino State Prison, one of the many facilities to which PEP brings educational opportunities to prisoners. (Photos: Courtesy Nik De Dominic and Kate Levin.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  USC Dornsife faculty and students teach university-level coursework to California prisoners in an effort to reduce recidivism rates and break down stereotypes. <strong>[5\u00bc min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 20, 2020<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Prison may not seem the best place to teach university-level classes, but to the surprise of instructors in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/pep\">Prison Education Project<\/a>\u00a0(PEP) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the venue has proven to be ideal. With no computers, phones or internet access, the classroom environment harkens back to a simpler time in education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re present with one another in a way that I don&#8217;t find in my other classrooms. No one\u2019s checking their phone,\u201d says PEP Co-director\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1055764\">Nik De Dominic<\/a>, assistant professor (teaching) of writing. \u201cThe men and women that are coming to those classrooms are really happy to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since 2018, PEP has brought classes on subjects including film, biology and writing to prisons around the state, including the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco and the Santa Fe Springs women\u2019s prison. USC Dornsife students volunteer in the classes as teaching assistants and answer prisoners\u2019 questions about college life.<\/p>\n<p>In exchange for attending PEP classes, some prisons offer their participating students a reduction in sentence, but that isn\u2019t a prisoner\u2019s only motivation to enroll.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of our incarcerated students have told us time and time again, \u2018In this class I feel free. I feel like I can be human. Elsewhere in the prison, I have to keep my guard up, but here I can finally relax a little bit and be vulnerable,\u2019\u201d says\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1038704\">Kate Levin<\/a>, co-director of PEP and assistant professor (teaching) of writing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Talent behind bars\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/PEP_InStoryA-3353.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people pose with holding a book.\" width=\"450\" height=\"700\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PEP co-directors Nik De Dominic (back row, 2nd from right) and Kate Levin (front row, center), PEP student co-director G Bajaj (far right) and student volunteers hold copies of a PEP writing anthology.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When De Dominic arrived at USC Dornsife in 2015, he was surprised to discover that the university did not offer a prison education program for those currently incarcerated. He\u2019d previously been an Alabama Prison Arts + Education fellow at the University of Alabama and had also taught in prisons in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p>He partnered with Levin who shared his interest in starting a program for the imprisoned. The two teamed up with the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.prisoneducationproject.org\/About.html\">Prison Education Project<\/a>, founded by Renford Reese,\u00a0professor of political science\u00a0at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, which connects them with prisons and arranges for classes to take place.<\/p>\n<p>In the spring of 2018, at the end of their first creative writing class at the California Rehabilitation Center at Norco, De Dominic and Levin created an anthology of their students\u2019 writing. They arranged a reading, and the prison laid out refreshments. Students took turns standing up to read their work in what proved to be an emotional event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, there were so many tears. Nik and I were both bawling,\u201d says Levin.<\/p>\n<p>Navigating the enormous and elaborate prison bureaucracy is their biggest obstacle, says De Dominic. Sometimes, after driving an hour and a half from campus to a facility to teach, an unknown incident inside the prison means class is abruptly canceled.<\/p>\n<p>Once inside the walls though, it\u2019s worth all the effort. \u201cWe get in there every semester with [writing classes] and our students are producing work that we could very well see in the Kenyon Review,\u201d says De Dominic, referring to the prestigious\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kenyonreview.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">literary journal<\/a>. \u201cI feel incredibly proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each semester, De Dominic and Levin put out a call for volunteer faculty to teach courses with PEP. They usually get more interested participants than they can accommodate. They\u2019ve hosted classes on ethics, physics and astronomy, sci-fi writing and much more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prisoner to prosperity pipeline\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For those who balk at the thought of prisoners receiving free classes, Levin argues that PEP provides practical benefits to the larger community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch shows that if someone in prison just takes one class, they\u2019re far less likely to recidivate,\u201d she says. It costs a little more than $80,000 to incarcerate an inmate for one year in California. If programs like PEP can present inmates from returning to the system, it could save taxpayers a considerable amount of cash.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1055204\">Michelle Meyers<\/a>, lecturer in writing, believes that her PEP creative writing classes give students emotional regulation skills, something many prisoners struggle with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things that all people need in their lives are emotional outlets, ways to express and process feelings,\u201d says Meyers. \u201c[With writing], you get stuff out on paper that might be bothering you. It\u2019s important to have job skills, but it\u2019s also important to have skills in making it through the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For USC student volunteers, it\u2019s a chance to break out of their comfort zone and confront stereotypes. One volunteer in De Dominic and Levin\u2019s first writing class penned an apology letter at the end of the course, stating that she\u2019d started with the view of prisoners as \u201cmenacing thugs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am so grateful to this program for opening my eyes and giving me the opportunity to meet all of you,\u201d reads her letter.<\/p>\n<p>G Bajaj a health and human sciences major who is PEP\u2019s student co-director, says working with the prison population has broadened his perspective as he studies towards becoming a physician.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn order to be a good health professional, you have to understand the different facets of the community you\u2019re serving,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you can\u2019t understand someone that\u2019s experiencing homelessness or someone that\u2019s formerly incarcerated, how do you expect to advocate for that\u00a0\u00a0patient?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>COVID-19 in the cells<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The coronavirus pandemic has complicated PEP\u2019s work. Prisons are experiencing serious outbreaks, which has delayed the start of PEP\u2019s classes this semester and forced the work to become virtual. Many lectures must now be prerecorded.<\/p>\n<p>In Meyers class, students meet over Zoom, using audio only. (Prison regulations forbid the use of video.) The whole class shares one computer. The specter of disease hangs over the group. Meyers generally asks her students to share a positive and a negative each week, or a \u201crose and thorn.\u201d Pre-COVID, roses were typically about nearing the end of a sentence or working in the prison\u2019s gardens. Now, a student\u2019s rose might be that the ward had remained free of infections that week.<\/p>\n<p>The PEP crew soldiers on with hopes of returning to in-person classes this summer, provided the county allows them back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany things in the prison space are designed to strip people of their humanity,\u201d says Levin. \u201cIf we can go there and help open up a little space where people can be human, why wouldn\u2019t we want to keep doing that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USC Dornsife faculty and students teach university-level coursework to California prisoners in an effort to reduce recidivism rates and break down stereotypes. <strong>[5\u00bc min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17],"tags":[415,560,414,136],"class_list":["post-2172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-impact","category-student","tag-kate-levin","tag-michelle-meyers","tag-nik-de-dominic","tag-writing-program"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/prison-education-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"USC Dornsife faculty and students teach university-level coursework to California prisoners in an effort to reduce recidivism rates and break down stereotypes. 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