Author: kdwyer6

Proud Recipients of a Grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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We could not be more delighted to announce that we have received a grant from the Mellon Foundation to deepen and expand our work. In the midst of covid and the many accompanying uncertainties, this grant is more welcome even than it would have been in “normal” times. The funding will allow us to expand our course offerings in the Humanities, as well as develop a project to send reading materials to folks in special housing units and to provide educational TV programming statewide.

The Mellon Foundation has been a staunch supporter of prison education efforts, and we are honored to be part of their work.

Read more in Around the O!

WINTER 2020 — Inside Students Only

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LEGAL PROCESS / PS 275 / ALISON GASH 

This class explores the nature of the American judiciary—its structure, its players and its impact on American public policy

UNIVERSITY MATHEMATICS 1 / MATH 105 / CRAIG TINGEY 

Topics include logic, sets and counting, probability, and statistics. Instructors may include historical context of selected topics and applications to finance and biology.

THREE WAYS OF THOUGH IN EARLY CHINA: CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, LEGALISM / CHN 407/507 / STEPHEN DURRANT 

Philosophical thought blossomed in China during a period of major political and social disruption that extended from the fifth to the end of the third century BCE, centuries usually called the “Warring States Period” (zhanguo shidai 戰國時代). In fact, Chinese traditionally described this as a time of “many masters of philosophy and numerous schools of thought” (zhuzi baijia 諸子百家). Among these “numerous schools of thought,” three gained special importance: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These three philosophies proposed different solutions to the disruption of that period, and each has exercised considerable influence throughout the subsequent course of Chinese history. To some extent they still constitute a critical part of the foundation of contemporary China.

PEP TV Season 1

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We are proud to announce that our new project, UO PEP TV has launched! DVDs were sent to all 14 institutions around Oregon, with a request to play the content over the institutional education chanel. That means there is a potential audience of 14,000 people who will be able to watch these guest lecturers from past UO events.

The content was carefully chosen by our PEP TV Content Curator, Josh Cain, who is one of our former inside members of ACE and a graduate of the UO while inside. He chose talks on a variety of topics, which we hope will capture the interest of a broad range of folks on the inside. The current “Season” has two hours of content each week for 10 weeks, and we hope to expand in the future. All lectures are drawn from the UO Humanities Center, and we are grateful for their support and participation.

[embeddoc url=”https://prisoned.uoregon.edu/files/2021/06/UO-PEP-TV-Season-1-TV-Guide.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]

Statement on Black Lives Matter

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The University of Oregon’s Prison Education Program stands against racism in all its forms – overt, unconscious, and systemic. We are committed to combating inequality and violence through conversations in our classes, our projects, and among ourselves.

We stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, recognizing the unequal violence and structural hardships faced by our Black students, neighbors, colleagues, and leaders.

We hope that in this moment greater equality can be achieved for all those who suffer discrimination and prejudice. We commit to being present in that fight.

One of the inspirations for Inside-Out’s pedagogy, Paolo Freire, uses the analogy that “we make the road by walking.” We as a society are making that way forward now – through protests in the streets, independent study, tough conversations, and interruption of violence and discrimination. We commit to continuing in that work – to use another quote that frequently appears in our programmatic conversations, “once you know, you owe.” The existence and impact of systemic racism is not new news to us, and we recommit ourselves to the ongoing work of social justice through education and dialogue.

WINTER 2019 — Inside Students Only

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INTRA-COMMUNITY CONFLICT: THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND / GEOG 410 / SHAUL COHEN

In this course, we will explore the roots of the political violence (the Troubles) in Northern Ireland and discuss the role of identity, power, place, and violence in determining the conflict and its transformation into an uncertain peace.

 

INTERNATIONAL MODELS OF INCARCERATION / CAS 407/507 / KATIE DWYER

In this course, we will examine other countries’ approaches to criminal justice as a counterpoint to US models. We will first explore general comparative models of international criminal justice, including both the opportunities for positive change in the US and the ways that culture and circumstances influence outcomes. We will then focus on particular countries’ successes and explore these models in depth.

FALL 2019 — Inside Students Only

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THREE WAYS OF THOUGH IN EARLY CHINA: CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, LEGALISM / CHN 407/507 / STEPHEN DURRANT

Philosophical thought blossomed in China during a period of major political and social disruption that extended from the fifth to the end of the third century BCE, centuries usually called the “Warring States Period” (zhanguo shidai 戰國時代). In fact, Chinese traditionally described this as a time of “many masters of philosophy and numerous schools of thought” (zhuzi baijia 諸子百家). Among these “numerous schools of thought,” three gained special importance: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These three philosophies proposed different solutions to the disruption of that period, and each has exercised considerable influence throughout the subsequent course of Chinese history. To some extent they still constitute a critical part of the foundation of contemporary China.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGEBRA AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING / MATH 101 / CRAIG TINGEY 

Math 101 is designed as a “bridge” to college math. It starts with a review of some fundamental concepts and then goes over the basics of algebra and other concepts needed for the more advanced math classes.

2019 UO Graduation Held at OSCI

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We are delighted to announce the commencement celebration for three of our inside students at OSCI: Shawn, Kevin, and Mark.

A photo of the three graduates and two PEP staff members and seven UO student interns
Graduates Shawn, Mark, and Kevin with PEP staff and interns

We held a gathering with nearly 100 people, including fellow inside students, staff and leaders in the Department of Corrections, College Inside administrators for Chemeketa Community College, University of Oregon faculty and PEP interns, elected officials, and the friends and family members of our graduates. Graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree while incarcerated is an incredible feat, and requires years of committed study. Each of these three men worked extremely hard, achieved outstanding grades, encouraged their fellow students, and earned their college degrees.

Kevin not only is graduating with high honors, but is our first inside student to double major. His bachelor’s degrees are in General Social Science with a concentration in Crime, Law, and Society, and in General Humanities. Shawn graduated with high honors in General Humanities. He completed his degree in 2018, but this was our first chance to celebrate his graduation. Mark graduated with high honors in General Social Sciences with a concentration in Crime, Law, and Society. All three of our graduates plan to continue their journeys in higher education. They all see education as a profoundly transformative part of their experience of incarceration, and are working to expand access to college classes for more people incarcerated in Oregon.

Mark and Senator Dembrow

Mark and Senator Dembrow

A number of people from the Department of Corrections and the University of Oregon offered remarks, praising the program and celebrating the graduates’ accomplishments. We heard about the impact education has for people who are incarcerated, and the particular example set by the three students—as leaders in a wide variety of programs as well as having a deep commitment to education. The highlight of the day’s proceedings was the speeches by the graduates, who thanked their communities for the support they have received, commented on their educational journeys, and called on the audience to expand access to education inside.

After the formal proceedings, we had a chance to share cake and informal time together. As with all celebrations, the cake–and the conversations that go with it–is an essential feature.

Congratulations to the UO PEP class of 2019!

Enjoying cake after the ceremony

SUMMER 2019 — Inside Students Only

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RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE / CAS 407 / KEVIN ALLTUCKER

This class is an introduction to the methods and perspectives used in social science research. Topics include ethical and cultural issues in research, quantitative and qualitative inquiry, sampling, measurement, research design, data analysis, and how to write a research proposal. After completing this course you will be a more skillful consumer of published research, understand the strengths of quantitative and qualitative research and their limitations, and be able to write a professional research proposal.