US Jailhouse Nation

History of Crime, Punishment, and Mass Incarceration

 
Jailhouse Nation! explores America’s long and troubled history with crime, punishment, and prisons. By first examining how both crime and thus the “criminal” are socially and historically constructed, students consider the role of violence and systematic punishment in Puritan New England, the slave South, and later, the modern United States. The institution of slavery provides an important framework to help students understand how new modes of punishment (namely, incarceration in jails and prisons) emerged alongside the abolition of slavery. Furthermore, this course examines the role of post-emancipation prison regimes in shaping popular (mis)understandings of “race” and the idea of “black criminality.”

Students discuss the rise of the carceral state in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, noting long historical parallels and the roles of contemporary political and economic forces driving the prison boom. Throughout the course students consider the distinct experiences of punishment for men, women, children, African Americans, whites, Latinos, sexual minorities and non-citizens in order to tease out the specific relationships between race, class, gender and punishment at various moments in American history. Within our broader exploration of state-based punishment policies, we also consider community resistance to policing and incarceration and the rise of so-called prison abolitionists.

Student Q&A

List of 4 frequently asked questions.

  • Q. What did you hope to learn from this course?

    With so much attention being brought to mass incarceration, especially within the Black Lives Matter movement I have found myself drawn to discussions about the United States prison system. Before taking the class I had watched a movie called The 13th which talked about privatized prisons and incarceration as a new form of slavery. Going into this class, I wanted to learn more about the systems in place that allow for mass incarceration.

  • Q. What did you enjoy most about this course?

    I enjoyed that we learned about mass incarceration through a historical lens. We looked at the history of prisons in the United States dating back to its founding. By taking this approach, we were able to fully understand how the U.S. got to its status as a “Jailhouse Nation.”

  • Q. What surprised you about this course?

    I knew going into the class that mass incarceration was an important topic, but I was not aware of its true significance. Now, after spending a mod learning about the United States prison systems I have come to realize that mass incarceration is one of the most pressing topics of this era.

  • Q. What would you tell another student interested in taking this course?

    The United States prison system is an important, yet often overlooked part of U.S. history. This class is an important class to take if you are interested in politics and under-discussed issues of importance.
Throughout the mod, students review controversial points of conversation, and questions worth pondering. They then gather as a class to hold debates on these topics in which people are randomly assigned a side to research and prep an argument on. 
Sample Debate topics:

Should we abolish private prisons?

What should the purpose of prisons be?

Should felons have the right to vote?

 
45 Georgian Road | Weston, MA 02493 | 781-642-8600

CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.