Gateways for Incarcerated Youth

This fall only, reading-intensive transdisciplinary academic program explores incarceration, the radical imagination, and social care through a pluralist, holistic, and intellectually rigorous lens, bringing together elements from literary studies, the literary arts, visual studies, social practice, philosophy, history, political economy, political geography, contemplative practices, and psychoanalytic studies. Students will also participate in lecture series connected to program themes, supporting and enriching their project development, artistic work, and / or scholarly inquiry.

Students will work in both seminar and small-group settings, engaging in approximately 100-200 pages of reading per week for seminar, and producing a combination of analytical and creative writing. Written creative and critical work is developed and refined through a collaborative workshop process. Weekly seminars will be supplemented with student-led facilitation, offering students the opportunity to develop and practice dialogical and leadership skills.

Students will pursue independent research and creative projects based on their own interests, with guidance from faculty and Gateways staff. These projects may include community-based learning experiences and engagement with justice-impacted individuals, including some opportunities for co-learning with incarcerated youth. However, participation in co-learning in correctional settings is limited and not guaranteed for all students. This element is one part of a broader, evolving program structure that supports multiple pathways for independent and collaborative projects. Students who will engage directly with justice-impacted individuals are required to complete background checks and policy training, in accordance with the standards of The Evergreen State College and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

This program emphasizes critical reflection, dialogue, and collective and creative inquiry as tools for collaborative co-learning. Students should come prepared for a demanding reading and writing load, and a commitment to respectful, rigorous engagement with complex ideas and communities. Students may choose to continue projects and research from fall in winter and spring in consultation with Gateways staff as interns at variable credits by means of Individual Learning Contracts, and in the CCBLA SOS.