This coming fall I will teach HST 353 American In/Justice: The Prison as a Social History of the US. American In/Justice grows out of my larger manuscript project on the Indiana Girls School, 1900-1930. The course examines the carceral history of the US with a focus on the period from Reconstruction to the present. One important element of the class will be using Indiana as a case study and site. We will make use of the state’s abundant records as well as some of the many reality tv shows focusing on hoosier inmates as source materials.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Indiana was a pioneer in prison ‘reform’ efforts led initially by Quaker women, including Rhodda Coffin. By the early 20th century, religious reform was increasingly supplanted by those trained in medicine and social science. In 1907 the state became the first to forcibly sterilize male inmates as punishment and security against future crimes. The state’s history of eugenics will be an important context for the class.

The class will also make use of the nation’s fascination with and production of prison popular culture products such as musical cultures, poetry, etc.

Update May 4, 2018: I have started a blog for the course American In/Justice. It is in its infancy and won’t really be up and running until the fall. Suggestions for links, materials, events, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

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