GOVERNMENT 314 
“Prisons”
Professor Mary Katzenstein

In America, there are now over two million people in jail and prison. Indeed, the U.s. stands alone among industrialized countries with its high rates of incarceration and continued use of the death penalty. Set against this background, the broad purpose of this course is to think about incarceration in America through the framework of citizenship. This means considering the relationship of incarceration to society and the state rather than to think of prisoners as objects of study in isolation. This course will focus on the politics of incarceration.
Course Design: Students in this extremely challenging, engaging class write four papers during the term, in addition to informal writing used to stimulate thought and discussion in most classes and sections. One of the four papers is a narrative and descriptive account of attending a session of Ithaca City Court, Felony Court, or Family Treatment Court. The other three are based on synthetic and critical readings of course material. Three graduate teaching assistants lead weekly sections for discussion and exploration of course issues, along with development of writing projects. There are no exams.