Abstract
Research examining undergraduate student attitudes toward corrections suggests that criminal justice majors hold more punitive sentiments in comparison to their peers in other fields (Mackey & Courtright, 2000). While taking criminal justice courses can shift attitudes (Farnworth et al.,1998; Lane, 1997), how classes are taught can impact student sentiments. Experiential learning, for example, expands learning beyond the classroom (Stacer et al., 2017). Although disciplines have embraced this method, incorporations in criminal justice curricula sometimes manifest as tours of active correctional institutions (Smith et al., 2009) which can be extractive and dehumanizing for people who are incarcerated (C. Agans, personal communication, 2023; Dreisinger, 2016). Exploring alternatives, students in six criminal justice undergraduate courses during Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 were taken to Eastern State Penitentiary as part of a mixed methods project examining the impact of inactive prison tours on students’ perceptions of punitiveness, justice, and intersectionality. Students identified themes of injustice, racism, and frustration with the carceral system. Drawing from personal experiences with and reflections from active research on prison tours, we grapple with the ethics of engaging criminal justice students with the carceral system through inactive prison tours.
Recommended Citation
Early, Alessandra Milagros; Mckenna, Nicole; Colby, Alison; Dietsche, Lucas Alan; and Kilmer, Ashley
(2025)
"The Ethics of “Educational” Prison Tours,"
Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 6:
Iss.
4, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol6/iss4/5