Classics and Prison Education in the US - Paperback

by Emilio Capettini (Editor), Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz (Editor)

This volume focuses on teaching Classics in carceral contexts in the US and offers an overview of the range of incarcerated adults, their circumstances, and the ways in which they are approaching and reinterpreting Greek and Roman texts.

Classics and Prison Education in the US examines how different incarcerated adults - male, female, or gender non-conforming; young or old; serving long sentences or about to be released - are reading and discussing Classical texts, and what this may entail. Moreover, it provides a sophisticated examination of the best pedagogical practices for teaching in a prison setting and for preparing returning citizens, as well as a considered discussion of the possible dangers of engaging in such teaching - whether because of the potential complicity with the carceral state, or because of the historical position of Classics in elitist education.

This edited volume will be a resource for those interested in Classics pedagogy, as well as the role that Classics can play in different areas of society and education, and the impact it can have.

Author Biography

Emilio Capettini is Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His scholarly work has appeared in Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici, Classical Quarterly, Mnemosyne, and the American Journal of Philology.

Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz is Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature at Hamilton College. Her publications include Anxiety Veiled: Euripides and the Traffic in Women (1993), Greek Tragedy (2008), and many co-edited volumes, including Sex in Antiquity (2014) and From Abortion to Pederasty: Addressing Difficult Topics in the Classics Classroom (2014).