The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Intersections between Feminism and Communication

Carmen Heider

doi:10.3390/h7030084

Abstract

This paper explores the intersections between feminism and communication in an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course that is cross-listed with Social Justice and Women’s and Gender Studies. The paper focuses on the alignment of the Inside-Out curriculum with feminist pedagogical principles and explores, through the structure and content of the course, the ways in which these feminist principles interconnect with communication concepts.

Highlights

Background of the InsideOut Prison Exchange ProgramThe origins of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program date to 1995 when Temple University instructor Lori Pompa took 15 undergraduate students to a Pennsylvania correctional facility where part of their visit included a one-hour discussion session with several prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences.1 As Pompa explains, “this conversation went places I had never experienced before—in prison, on campus, really anywhere
The Inside-Out Center website highlights the history and current status of the program: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is an educational program with an innovative pedagogical approach tailored to effectively facilitate dialogue across difference
It originated as a means of bringing together campus-based college students with incarcerated students for a semester-long course held in a prison, jail, or other correctional setting. While those core Inside-Out Prison Exchange courses have been replicated across the United States and in multiple countries since its inception nearly 20 years ago, the program has expanded into a variety of other forms of educational and community-based programming

Summary

Background of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

The origins of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program date to 1995 when Temple University instructor Lori Pompa took 15 undergraduate students to a Pennsylvania correctional facility where part of their visit included a one-hour discussion session with several prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences. As Pompa explains, “this conversation went places I had never experienced before—in prison, on campus, really anywhere. The Inside-Out Center website highlights the history and current status of the program: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is an educational program with an innovative pedagogical approach tailored to effectively facilitate dialogue across difference It originated as a means of bringing together campus-based college students with incarcerated students for a semester-long course held in a prison, jail, or other correctional setting. While those core Inside-Out Prison Exchange courses have been replicated across the United States and in multiple countries since its inception nearly 20 years ago, the program has expanded into a variety of other forms of educational and community-based programming. All students are expected to participate and share their observations about the course material in an environment that emphasizes mutual respect and reciprocity

Impact of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

Case Example

Curriculum

A World Apart

Conclusions