Course Details

Why should people in prison have opportunities for education? What are the benefits and what are the realities and constraints of the institution? This class is centered around a series of visits we will make to the Twin Rivers Unit of the Monroe Correctional Complex (about 45 minutes outside of Seattle). We will meet with a group of prisoners there several times over the course of this class, sharing reading and writing assignments with them (scheduled dates are Wednesdays in B term, departing from the UW around 11:00 am and arriving back by 5). We will also tour the facility and meet with the prison’s administrative staff and correctional officers in order to gain a broad understanding of the complex issues surrounding education within a prison setting (the tour is currently scheduled for Tuesday Aug. 5, and will take all day). UW students will engage in writing and outreach projects with the TRU students. NO MAKE-UP sessions are possible, so please check your schedules.

Add codes required to register for this course, and are available from Claudia Jensen (cjensen@uw.edu). Please provide your student number in your add code request, as well as your acknowledgment of the following.

Students will have to submit information for clearance in order to enter the prison facility and they will be required to sign the UW’s Acknowledgement of Risk form; all students must be over 18. Class size will be limited to 12 students, and transportation to and from the prison will be provided. Please contact the instructor, Claudia Jensen (cjensen@uw.edu), for more information or if you can’t attend the scheduled information sessions (Thursday May 15 or May 29, 12:30, MGH 211E).