History 216 - Prisons and Public History

Institution:

Hiram College

Subject:

Description:

Prisons and Public History: the Spectacle of Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary: This course will simultaneously explore the history of prisons and the practice of public history. The course will end with a week-long field trip to a unique historical site, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. We will discuss the uses and potential abuses of public history by comparing current day issues in penal reform to the presentation of prison history at Eastern State. The United States is uniquely committed to the use of prisons. Since 1980 America's prison population has almost quadrupled. The US is first amongst all industrialized nations in its per capita incarceration rates. Why would a country so committed to "freedom" be so vigorous in its use of prisons? What better place to answerthis than in Philadelphia? Where else could one simultaneously view a "shrine of liberty" such as the Liberty Bell, as well as one of the mostinfluential prisons ever constructed a prison whose prolonged use of solitary confinement for all prisoners took incarceration to its logical extremes? For decades after it was built in the 1820's, Eastern State attracted flocks of visitors intent on copying its construction. In this course we will explore what such a pilgrimage could accomplish for the public today.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

WWW.HIRAM.EDU

Phone Number:

(330) 569-3211

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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