This introductory seminar for spring 2006 examines race, culture and incarceration. The United States has the greatest incarceration and execution rates in the industrialized world-estimated at about 2 million, with over 3000 on death row. Poor people and people of color comprise the majority of those imprisoned due to the war on drugs and racial and economic bias in policing and sentencing. This course examines intersections of democracy and captivity in penal societies. Students study literature and screen documentaries on: the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which abolished slavery while legalizing it for prisoners; the 14th Amendment (originally designed to protect the emancipated but largely enforced to protect corporations as "persons"); the convict prison lease system; contemporary critiques of prison systems; and penal narratives. (See: http://www.williams.edu/african-american-studies/democracy. htm). Requirements: three 5-page critiques of readings; group presentation; final project. No prerequisites. Enrollment is limited. Permission of instructor required.

Hour: JAMES