Monday, April 17, 2017

New Yorker Articles on Prison & Education; Wrongful Incarceration & Compensation; Solitary Confinement; Democracy Now re: Imprisoned Immigrant Hunger Strike; NYTimes Opinion pc.

Underground Scholars at UC Berkeley
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/12/the-ex-con-scholars-of-berkeley

Money for Education: The Power of Pell Grants

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-power-of-pell-grants-for-prisoners

Using the Law to Change a System for the Better
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/derrick-hamilton-jailhouse-lawyer

Solitary Confinement
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/03/30/hellhole

Accused of Stealing a Backpack Cost a Child Three Years of His Life

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/before-the-law

The Price of a Life: Compensation for Lost Freedom?

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/13/the-price-of-a-life

700 Immigrants on Hunger Strike at For-Profit Prison to Protest Conditions & $1/Day Wages
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/14/700_immigrants_on_hunger_strike_at


DeVone Boggan, of Operation Peacemaker Fellowship,
Local Organization Treats Gun Violence as an Illness


May Assignments

Continue responding to letters from Women Prisoners. Prepare for Public Conversation

Readings: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated by Nell Bernstein

Watch: Michelle Alexander in conversation with Bill Moyers (2014)

Watch:  The future of race in America: Michelle Alexander at TEDxColumbus


Lecture Topics for Discussion: 
1. We will look at the argument forms: Rogerian and Definition, Aristotelian and Toulmin

2. Talk about Fallacies. Make of list of fallacies connected to the theme of incarceration and women.

3. Look at Induction and Deduction.

4. Start developing scenes and dialogues for performance.

Peformances:
June performances (3): Skyline, public library or community center, prison.


Proposal for May-June

Monologues – Awele & Wanda
• Storytelling
• Ensemble Building
• Writing
• Dramaturgy
• Poetic Gesture
• Page to Stage Rehearsal Process
• Performance

Performance & Civic Engagement – Skyline Drama Students
• School Community
• Public Library
• Juvenile Justice Center

• Women’s Facilities

Sunday, April 16, 2017

College of Alameda College Hour Salon

Public Forum Tenative Date
On Wednesday, May 10, 12-1 p.m., the class will host a public conversation or Forum on Incarcerated Women and the Letters Project at the College of Alameda.  We will invite the college community along with affected populations, families, law enforcement, advocates, survice providers, scholars.

We will need two moderators.

Students will need to brainstorm on who they would like to invite.

Discussion will include sharing excerpts from the letters written by the women and letters written by the high school students.

Students will also discussion their research on youth incarcerated as adults in California specifically girls who are now adults serving life without the possibility of parole.

To prepare, we will have as a guest presenter, May 1, a former woman prisoner who are speak about incarceration and its affects on the woman prisoner and her family.

Recomended Films:

They Call Us Monsters (2016) dir. Ben Lear

From Juvies "Duc's Child Abuse"

Juvies Trailer

Juvies 
(2004) dir. Leslie NealeTwelve juveniles, who have been tried as adults, were picked at random for a video workshop at Eastlake Juvenile Hall, Los Angeles. Their stories are inter-cut with commentary from academics, neurologists, a former district attorney of Los Angeles County, and others who discuss the trend in recent years across the United States to try juveniles as adults - more than 200,000 each year. The film argues that this public policy is misguided, unfair, expensive, and counterproductive. One of the youth ends an autobiographical poem, "Do you think he'll go mad?"

Prime Time Juvenile Offenders (2005)
"In the hour-long investigative documentary, PrimeTime Co-Anchor Chris Cuomo goes inside Arizona's facilities and meets an extraordinary group of boys and girls at a critical turning point - they have one last chance to either change their ways or face the prospect of doing time in an adult prison. How did they end up here? How can they be helped? [The directorial team] felt juvenile corrections was a topic that deserved an in-depth examination and [it] worked very hard to gain access to the safe schools in our program in order to deliver this fascinating and important report. PrimeTime was granted unprecedented access to Arizona's system for juvenile corrections and spent nearly six months following the teens and their families as they wound their way in and out of the system. Along the way, the locked up youth share their shame, their secrets and their dreams. They show their pride and promise. And in the end, they reveal that behind the tough talk and bravado, they are still just kids" (IMBD Synopsis).

Women in Prison: Maximum Security
This prison, Valley State is now a men's prison. The women were either moved to the other prison, CCWF also in Chowchilla or sent to county facilities or perhaps further south.

Partner Organization: California Coalition for Women Prisoners
The Fire Inside is a newsletteer published by and for incarcerated women. It is one of many programs supported by one of the "Letters Project," California Coalition for Women Prisoners: womenprisoners.org

Background on Central California Women's Facility (CCWF). This is the prison the women participants are incarcerated in:

http://www.juvies.net/videoclips.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpqNVDWc9W8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_California_Women's_Facility



Readings:Building Trust Cuts Violence. Cash Also Helps - NYTimes.com

This article from the New York Times features a program in Richmond, CA. Does anyone know about this program or have contacts? Also, wpould be interested in your feedback after reading the article.

Building a Prison to School Pipeline -- New Yorker
Formerly incarcerated undergrads started a group on campus to offer mentoring, support, and advocacy to other onetime inmates.



Readings
Local projects which use theatre and art for ritual and healing are Ayodele Nzinga’s Lower Bottom Playaz, Recovery Theatre in San Francisco

A County Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation by Mary D. Looman and John D. Carl

All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated
by Nell Bernstein

Orange is the New Black
by Piper Kerman

Soledad Brother: the Prison Letters of George Jackson


Black Voices from Prison
by Etheridge Knight (all Knight)

The New Jim Crow
by Michele Alexander

Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson


America is the Prison: Art and Politics in Prison in the
1970s by Lee Berstein

Soldier of Truth: The Trials of Rev. Edward Pink
ney with Philip A Bassett

Unlocking Minds in Lockup: Prison Education Opens Doors
by Jan Walker

Prison Life in Popular Culture: From the Big House to Orange is the New Black
by Dawn K. Cecil

Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre by Jonathan Shailor

Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods
by Shawn Wilson
The Wounded Researcher: Research with Soul in Mind by Robert D. Ramanyshyn

The Souls of Black Folk
by W.E.B. Dubois

The Known World
by Edward P. Jones

Black Rage
by William Grier and Price M. Cobbs

The Coldest Winter Ever
by Sista Souljah

A World Apart: Women, Prison, and Life Behind Bars by Cristina Rathbon

Interrupted Life: Experiences of Incarcerated Women in the United States by Rickie Solinger, Martha L. Raimon, Tina Reynolds, Ruby Tapia

Straight Outta East Oakland 2: Trapped on the Track by Harry Louis Williams II (this is a sequel, local writer who has done work in stopping sexual trafficking of children).

Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement
, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones by Hill Harper 

Theatre:

The Box is a play by Sarah Shourd

Film Recap: (All the directors live in the SF Bay Area)

Crime after Crime, dir. Yoav Potash
Juvies, dir. Leslie Neale, 66 min
"Better This World" directors, Kelly Duane de La Vega and Katie Galloway
"COINTELPRO 101" (56 min 2010), dir. Claude Marks
In an Ideal World (2016) by Noel Schwerin






April Readings and Assignments

Reading Assignment 1 (4/10-12): Read CQ Researcher Article on "Women in Prison." Annotate it. In class we will practice writing summaries and paraphrases. We will also review MLA documentation for articles, how and when to cite, and how to use direct quotes and paraphrases in text.

Listen to Nell Berstein talking about her book Burning down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison (2014).

Watch: Bernstein on Girls in Prison

Watch if you have time: Longer Bernstein segment on Juveniles in Prison

Read and Annotate Report:  (4/19-5/1) No Place for Kids: 
The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Read and Annotate Excerpt: (4/19-5/1) Burning down the House by Nell Berstein


Reading Assignment 2 (4/17-19): We will read five chapters from Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. I also suggest student watch this TED Talk: Bryan Stevenson: We Need to Talk About Injustice and watch this short clip from the Newshour's "Brief but Spectacular History" featuring Bryan Stevenson.

These four (4) chapters include the Introduction, Chapter 5: Of the Coming of John; Chapter 6: Surely Doomed; Chapter 7: Justice Denied; Chapter 8: All God's Children.

Please read these chapters this coming week and think about the characters discussed in each chapter. We call main characters, protagonists. Protagonists are normally the good guys and gals. The antagonists are the bad guys and gals.  List the important characters; include distinguishing characteristics.

Some of the antagonists wear legal hats, that is, they are elected officials who are supposed to work to keep society free from those who mean others harm.

Why are these characters in prison? What bars their release? What is their attorney Bryan Stevenson's strategy. Are there any victories? If so, what are these victories?

Here are links to study guides for the book Just Mercy: 
1. Study Guide from Random House (publisher)

2Study Guide from UM-Go Big Read 

Guide to Annotating Readings from Purdue OWL:
In the first study guide link, you can skip to the chapters you will be reading for questions to guide your reading and a helpful summary. Please annotate the readings.

Writing Assignments:We have completed Prompts 1 and 2 April 10

Please respond to prompts 3 and 4 by Wednesday, April 19. We will send the letters off this week. The women wrote their first letters in February. We have not responded.

1. I Am From – Poem • Purpose – What I hope to do with my life… 
2. Why I’m here? (school / prison) 
3. What’s gone wrong in my life? (struggles, hardships, secrets, harm, crime,…) 
4. I take responsibility for… 

April 24-26
5. I need help with… 

6. Advice I want to give to parents… 

May 1-3
7. What is love? 
8. Who loves you and has your back? 

May 8-10
9. Who did you leave behind? Who’s missing you? (women) 
10.Who do you need to leave behind/that’s holding you back? (students) 

May 15
11. What do you need to find your best possible self?

As the letters from the women come in, we will assign letters to students penpals. 

OWL at Purdue LogoThis page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/). When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice at bottom.
Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:
This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls

Also see the OWL handout on Writing about Literature and the OWL handout on Literary Terms.
Writing about a story or novel can be difficult because fiction is generally very complex and usually includes several points or themes. To discover these interwoven meanings, you must read the work closely. Below are three techniques for reading fiction actively and critically. Close reading takes more time than quick, superficial reading, but doing a close reading will save you from a lot of frustration and anxiety when you begin to develop your thesis.

Close Reading a Text

Use these "tracking" methods to yield a richer understanding of the text and lay a solid ground work for your thesis.
  1. Use a highlighter, but only after you've read for comprehension. The point of highlighting at this stage is to note key passages, phrases, turning points in the story.
    Pitfalls:
    Highlighting too much
    Highlighting without notes in the margins
  2. Write marginal notes in the text.
    These should be questions, comments, dialogue with the text itself.
    A paragraph from Doris Lessing's short story "A Woman on a Roof" serves as an example:
    The second paragraph could have a note from the reader like this:
    Marginal NotesText
    Why is the man annoyed by the sunbather? Is Lessing commenting on sexist attitudes?
    Then they saw her, between chimneys, about fifty yards away. She lay face down on a brown blanket. They could see the top part of her: black hair, aflushed solid back, arms spread out.
    "She's stark naked," said Stanley, sounding annoyed.
  3. Keep a notebook for freewrite summaries and response entries.
    Write quickly after your reading: ask questions, attempt answers and make comments about whatever catches your attention. A good question to begin with when writing response entries is "What point does the author seem to be making?"
  4. Step back.
    After close reading and annotating, can you now make a statement about the story's meaning? Is the author commenting on a certain type of person or situation? What is that comment?

Avoiding Pitfalls

These four common assumptions about writing about fiction interfere with rather than help the writer. Learn to avoid them.
  1. Plot Summary Syndrome
    Assumes that the main task is simply recalling what happened in detail. Plot summary is just one of the requirements of writing about fiction, not the intended goal.
  2. Right Answer Roulette
    Assumes that writing about fiction is a "no win" game in which the student writer is forced to try to guess the RIGHT ANSWER that only the professor knows.
  3. The "Everything is Subjective" Shuffle
    Assumes that ANY interpretation of any literary piece is purely whimsy or personal taste. It ignores the necessity of testing each part of an interpretation against the whole text, as well as the need to validate each idea by reference to specifics from the text or quotations and discussion from the text.
  4. The "How Can You Write 500 Words About One Short Story?" Blues
    Assumes that writing the paper is only a way of stating the answer rather than an opportunity to explore an idea or explain what your own ideas are and why you have them. This sometimes leads to "padding," repeating the same idea in different words or worse, indiscriminate "expert" quoting: using too many quotes or quotes that are too long with little or no discussion.
Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:
This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Developing a Thesis

  1. Once you've read the story or novel closely, look back over your notes for patterns of questions or ideas that interest you. Have most of your questions been about the characters, how they develop or change?
    For example:
    If you are reading Conrad's The Secret Agent, do you seem to be most interested in what the author has to say about society? Choose a pattern of ideas and express it in the form of a question and an answer such as the following:
    Question: What does Conrad seem to be suggesting about early twentieth-century London society in his novel The Secret Agent?
    Answer: Conrad suggests that all classes of society are corrupt.
    Pitfalls:
    Choosing too many ideas.
    Choosing an idea without any support.
  2. Once you have some general points to focus on, write your possible ideas and answer the questions that they suggest.
    For example:
    Question: How does Conrad develop the idea that all classes of society are corrupt?
    Answer: He uses images of beasts and cannibalism whether he's describing socialites, policemen or secret agents.
  3. To write your thesis statement, all you have to do is turn the question and answer around. You've already given the answer, now just put it in a sentence (or a couple of sentences) so that the thesis of your paper is clear.
    For example:
    In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other. This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth-century London society.
  4. Now that you're familiar with the story or novel and have developed a thesis statement, you're ready to choose the evidence you'll use to support your thesis. There are a lot of good ways to do this, but all of them depend on a strong thesis for their direction.
    For example:
    Here's a student's thesis about Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent.
    In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other. This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth-century London society.
    This thesis focuses on the idea of social corruption and the device of imagery. To support this thesis, you would need to find images of beasts and cannibalism within the text.
Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:
This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Pre-writing Activities and Drafting Your Essay

Pre-writing Activities

1. Freewrite

Without referring to the text or your notes, write for five to ten minutes on all the images (or the device you have chosen to examine) you can recall. This will provide an initial list which will make up your body of evidence.

2. Review

Look back through the text and your notes to further identify evidence, keeping focused on the particular device you want to discuss.

3. Research

Optional: Ask your instructor about outside sources before you use them.
Once you've identified enough textual evidence to support your thesis, you may want to see what other writers have had to say about your topic. This kind of appeal to other authorities helps you back up and interpret your reading of the work.

4. Evaluate

You will probably generate more evidence than you can use. One way to decide which evidence to take and which to leave is to limit your choices to the best, most illustrative examples you can find. Focus on how the devices are used to develop major characters, major scenes, and major turning points in the work.

Drafting your essay

You've read and annotated the work, developed a thesis, and identified your evidence. Now you're ready to work your evidence into your draft. Here are some effective techniques.

1. Quoting

What is a quote?
Quoting involves taking a word, phrase, or passage directly from the story, novel, or critical essay and working it grammatically into your discussion. Here's an example:
In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad describes Verloc as "undemonstrative and burly in a fat-pig style.... " (69). The pig image suggests that Verloc is not a lean, zealous anarchist, but is actually a corrupt, complacent middle class man who is interested in preserving his comfortable status.
Notice three things about the example above:
  • The passage from the novel is enclosed in quotes and the page number is indicated in parentheses. For more help see our handouts on MLA and APA.
  • The passage is introduced in a coherent grammatical style; it reads like a complete, correct sentence. For more help, see our handout on using quotation marks.
  • The quote is interpreted, not patched on and left for the reader to figure out what it means.
When should I quote?
  • To make a particularly important point
  • When a passage or point is particularly well written
  • To include a particularly authoritative source
How should I quote?
  • All quotes must be introduced, discussed, and woven into the text. As you revise, make sure you don't have two quotes end-to-end.
  • A good rule of thumb: Don't let your quotes exceed 25% of your text.

2. Paraphrasing

What is paraphrasing?
  • This is using your own words to say what the author said. To paraphrase the quote used above, you might say something like:
Conrad describes Verloc as a big man who isn't very expressive and who looks like a pig.
    When should I paraphrase?
    • Paraphrasing is useful in general discussion (introduction or conclusion) or when the author's original style is hard to understand.
    • Again, you would need to interpret the paraphrase just as you would a quote.
    • For more help, see the OWL handout on paraphrasing.

    3. Summarizing

    What is summarizing?
    • This is taking larger passages from the original work and summing them up in a sentence or two. To use the example above:
    Conrad uses pig imagery to describe Verloc's character.
      When should I summarize?
      • Like paraphrasing, summary is useful in general discussion which leads up to a specific point and when you want to introduce the work and present the thesis.
      • For more help, see the OWL handout on Summarizing.

      A Country Called Prison: Intergenerational Letter Writing

      Syllabus Proposal for dual enrollment class at Skyline High School, the College of Alameda, Central California Women’s Facility and California Coalition for Women Prisoners.

      Teachers: Ms. Awele Makeba (Skyline), Professor Wanda Sabir (COA & CCWP), Ms. Natalie Demola (CCWF)

      Start date: January 2017-June 2017

      Critical Thinking, English 5/211, 3 semester units, about 6000 written words, develops the ability to analyze, critique, and advocate ideas. Critical thinking looks at the relationship between language and logic, introduces rhetoric or persuasive writing and tools students can use to evaluate information based on facts, perceptions, assumptions, evidence, reasons, inferences, judgments, induction, deduction and conclusions. Vocabulary is introduced so that students have the proper tools to discuss faulty thinking or flaws in the reasoning process and name the more common fallacies.

      This level composition assumes competency in prose writing and reading ability so that more attention can be devoted to ideas rather than to grammar and mechanics. Students who will most likely succeed in this course passed English 1A with a “B” or better.

      English 211 does not have the English 1A prerequisite which is why we will use it to run the Independent Study Course: “A Country Called Prison: An Intergenerational Critical Response.” Each one (1) unit will require three (3) hours of work, which includes instruction and homework. 3 units is 9 semester hours study per week of coursework.

      This course examines the role of language and semantics in critical thinking, social communications and propaganda. Students will also look at the fundamentals of problem solving, including considering and evaluating alternative solutions and perspectives. The course which will use letters from women prisoners and students as the basis for analysis, along with critical readings on the topic will culminate in a critical documented research essay (6-10 pages) discussing the project, pedagogic process, as well as a performative element where students will write scenes and skits for public performance.

      In this course we will use the epistle form to explore, write and analyze: Definition, Aristotelian, Rogerian, and Toulmin models of argument. We will cover deductive and inductive reasoning along with logical fallacies. Given our topic: Women Convicted as Children, now serving Life without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP), students will be encouraged to investigate and debunk prevailing misconceptions surrounding imprisonment, especially imprisonment of girls (children), children serving life without the possibility of parole, rehabilitation, slavery, crime reduction and safe communities and interrogate the widespread acceptance of this propaganda.

      Discussion and written topics will come from the student/prisoner correspondence, three texts, films, current event topics, fieldtrips, and historical issues with current relevance. Some of the work will be assigned as homework given the short meeting time in class (30-45 minutes per week).

      What is unique about the project is that all the women were convicted as teens and are now serving Life without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). The new legislation is helping some of the women get another mandatory parole hearing; however, not all women qualify. Natalie Demola, the teacher at CCWF, is one such woman.

      The final essay will include minimally 2-3 scholarly articles on the topic and a works cited and bibliography page(s) which is not counted as part of the 6-10 pages. Assignments are typed (when possible). When the assignment is not typed, please write double spaced or every other line and number pages. The typed essays use academic headings and a header (top left side of page).  See Purdue OWL:
      https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/

      Student Name
      Professor Sabir
      Independent Study Course: Critical Correspondence
      Day Month Year
      Assignment

      The header (top left side of page) is the student’s last name and the page number. It is created through the MS Word Insert taskbar.

      Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

      Apply tools of understand inferences to community, workplace and family situations.

      Evaluate materials/data in terms of accuracy as well as relevance to home and workplace situations.

      Identify logical fallacies in communication.

      Conduct research identifying relevant and accurate materials from a variety of sources, including databases, professional publications, and other applicable materials.

      Identify personal bias and other filters in order to evaluate community, family and professional materials objectively. 

      Texts:
      Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
      Burning down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison by Nell Bernstein
      The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
      All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated by Nell Bernstein (optional)

      Suggested Prompts for Letter Writing (8 weeks):[1]

      • I Am From – Poem • Purpose – What I hope to do with my life…
      • Why I’m here? (school / prison)
      • What’s gone wrong in my life? (struggles, hardships, secrets, harm, crime,…)
      • I take responsibility for…
      • I need help with…
      • Advice I want to give to parents…
      • What is love?
      • Who loves you and has your back?
      • Who did you leave behind? Who’s missing you? (women)
      • Who do you need to leave behind/that’s holding you back? (students)
      • What do you need to find your best possible self?

      Goal: College Credit: 3 Units Independent Study
      A passing grade would be based on, Students/Participants:

      1. Correspondence eight (8) letters minimally.

      2. Develop or write one (1) scene or monologue, collaborate with another student(s) on another scene or monologue as tech or performer, participate in the production as an actor.

      3. Participate in performances (3): College of Alameda, community venue (TBA), prison*

      4. Final: Reflective research essay (6-10 pages) on the project. Due after the first performance, before the last performance and/or visit to Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF).

      5. Read 1 book: The New Jim Crow; Burning down the House; All Alone in the World; Just Mercy; watch 1 film, Read three (3) articles; Annotate one article (4+ pages) on the topic (incarcerated girls; life imprisonment for youth; rehabilitation).

      For the Adults in Prison the requirements are similar. For college credit we need a sponsor to pay for unit credit and for books.  We have sent a set of the books to CCWF for the women to share, but more copies are needed (at least 5-6 copies of the four titles.) We also sent copies of the articles to the women to share. 

      *The performance is based on institutional requirements. Ms. Natalie DeMola is the liaison between COA, Skyline and the prison officials.







      [1] We would like letters going out weekly. It can take up to two weeks for the letters from outside to get into the prison.