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Announcement :: Children : Civil & Human Rights : Crime & Police : Drugs : Education : Elections & Legislation : Labor : Prisons |
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EDUCATION OR INCARCERATION? SCHOOLS AND PRISONS IN A PUNISHING DEMOCRACY |
Current rating: 6 |
by repost
(No verified email address) |
20 Jan 2004
Modified: 11:54:54 PM |
An Interdisciplinary Conference hosted by the University of Illinois’
Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society (CDMS)
Thursday, 22 January through Saturday, 24 January 2004 |
An Interdisciplinary Conference hosted by the University of Illinois’
Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society (CDMS)
Thursday, 22 January through Saturday, 24 January 2004
* All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
* Unless otherwise noted, events are in THE LEVIS FACULTY CENTER,
919 W. ILLINOIS STREET, on the northeast corner of the campus
The prison-industrial-complex (PIC) has expanded dramatically over the last generation, becoming one of the fastest growth industries in the United States of America. In fact, the PIC warehouses over 2 million prisoners and supervises almost 5 million parolees and probationers, meaning it controls the lives of 6,781,637 Americans. 1 out of every 32 adults—and 1 in 3 black males—is incarcerated in some form. Considering that each prisoner or parolee’s hardships are shared by his or her family members, we can safely assume that as many as 25 million Americans find their lives dramatically affected by our nation’s obsession with crime and punishment.
Moreover, the rise of the PIC has caused a terrible decline in America’s education system. For example, California now spends more money on its prison system than on its once-celebrated universities and state colleges combined. One result of such political choices is that there are now more African-American men in America’s prisons than in its colleges. Furthermore, we know that 68% of state prison inmates did not finish high school, meaning there is a direct relationship between declining schools and expanding prisons, between one’s access to education and one’s chances of becoming incarcerated. Young people who do not finish school are so much more likely to enter prison than students who complete high school that some scholars have begun referring to a “schools-to-prison pipeline.”
Gathering leading scholars, teachers, artists, and activists, this conference will tackle the complicated and compelling question of how to reclaim our schools — and hence the future of democracy — from the prison-industrial-complex.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
* All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
* Unless otherwise noted, events are in THE LEVIS FACULTY CENTER,
919 W. ILLINOIS STREET, on the northeast corner of the campus
Thursday Night, January 22nd
• 7:00-7:10—Welcome to the campus by University of Illinois Provost Richard Herman.
• 7:10-8:00—Keynote Address by Ruthie Gilmore, The Soros Senior Justice Fellow, and Professor of African-American Studies at The University of California, Berkeley, on “Pursuits of Happiness? Planning Crises of the Neoliberal State.”
• 8:00-9:30—Reception for conference participants.
Friday, January 23rd
• Coffee, Pastries, Registration, 8:00-8:30.
• Session 1: How the Prison-Industrial-Complex Ruins Schools, 8:30-10:00
--- Moderated by Laurie Reynolds, University of Illinois College of Law.
--- Tonya McClary, The American Friends Service Committee (Philadelphia), “How the Prison-Industrial-Complex Ruins Schools.”
--- Dylan Rodriguez, University of California at Riverside Ethnic Studies, “‘Power for Evil as Well as For Good’: Toward a Radical Critique of Schooling/Philanthropy at the Site of Imprisonment.”
--- Craig Gilmore, The Education not Incarceration Coalition (Bay Area, CA), “Budget Crisis, Political Opportunity.”
• Session 2: Schools as Breeding Grounds for Prison, 10:15-11:45
--- Moderated by Assata Zerai, University of Illinois Afro-American Studies & CDMS.
--- Christine Clark, Human Relations, University of Maryland, “Schools as Breeding Grounds for Prisons.”
--- Garrett Duncan, Washington University (St. Louis) Afro-American Studies, “Urban Pedagogies and the Celling of Black Youth: The Construction of a Superfluous Population in Postindustrial America.”
--- Lizbet Simmons, University of California at Berkeley Social and Cultural Studies, “Preemptive Incarceration: Ethical Dilemmas in Penal Discipline for Alternative Schools and ‘At-Risk’ Youth.”
--- Victor Goode, ABLE (Advocates for Basic Legal Equality) & Jennifer Goode, Bowling Green State University Sociology, “The Toledo Safe Schools Ordinance: A Preliminary Analysis of Race and Juvenile Court Cases.”
• Brown Bag Lunch, 12:00-1:15, including a Plenary Presentation by John Powell, Director of the Ohio State University Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. Powell will be introduced David Roediger, The Kendrick C. Babcock Professor of History and the Director of the University of Illinois Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society.
• Session 3: Educational Alternatives: Pedagogies of Hope and Engagement, 1:30-3:00
--- Moderated by Alejandro Lugo, University of Illinois Anthropology and CDMS.
--- Jody Lewen, Director, San Quentin Prison college program, “Going Inside: On the Challenges and Possibilities of Prison Higher Education.”
--- William (Buzz) Alexander, Director, The Prison Creative Arts Project (Ann Arbor, MI), “When Can We Talk?”
--- Will Patterson, Innovative Ed Consulting (Champaign), “No Child Left Behind from A Hip Hop Perspective.”
--- S. A. Tinnin-Bey, Indiana D.O.C. Transitional Counselor, “Cycle Psycho.”
• Session 4: Artists Empowering Education and Activism, 3:15-4:45
--- Moderated by Travis Dixon, University of Illinois Speech Communication.
--- Robin Sohnen, Director, Each One Reach One (Bay Area, CA), “Playwriting as a Springboard to Academic Success.”
--- Victoria Sammartino, Director, Voices Unbroken (NYC), “Teaching and Performing Poetry on The Road to Consciousness.”
--- Michael Keck, performance artist, “Bearing Witness: Social Change Through Ethnographic Performance.”
• Celebratory Party and Performance, 7:00-9:00
--- To thank our many visitors from around the country, to enjoy the artistic brilliance of Michael Keck’s singing, Victoria Samartino’s poetry, and Gabriel Alejandro Cortez’s video art, please join us for this celebratory party at the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society, 1108 Stoughton, Urbana (just east of Godwin).
Saturday, January 24th
• Coffee, Pastries, 8:00-8:30.
• Session 1: Building the Movement for Peace and Justice, 8:30-10:00
--- Moderated by Rosalinda Barrera, University of Illinois Curriculum and Instruction and Associate Director, CDMS.
--- Rose Braz, Director, Critical Resistance (Oakland, CA), “Building the Movement for Peace and Justice.”
--- Robert Schultz, Midwest Director, Amnesty International (Chicago, IL), “How Amnesty International Builds a Culture of Respect for Human Rights Standards.”
--- Erica Meiners, Northeastern Illinois University & Beyondmedia (Chicago, IL), “Imagining and Practicing Resistant and Transformative University/Community Collaborative Initiatives.”
• Session 2: Practical Utopias, 10:15-11:45
--- Moderated by James Anderson, University of Illinois Educational Policy Studies & CDMS. All CDMS conferences end with a session on practical utopias, where we collectively brainstorm regarding future actions, collaborations, and goals. Put aside your jaded and cynical “reality” blinders and think with us about utopian and practical ways to change the world. . .
Conference Website for More Info:
http://cdms.ds.uiuc.edu/education_or_incarceration%20schedule.htm |
This work is in the public domain |
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Re: EDUCATION OR INCARCERATION? SCHOOLS AND PRISONS IN A PUNISHING DEMOCRACY |
by Aprel Thomas
aprel (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
21 Jan 2004
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Contact info. for the conference, 217-244-0188 or aprel (at) uiuc.edu. |
