The City Jail

Municipal jails are one of the most impactful institutions of criminal justice in the United States; and yet many Americans do not even know the difference between a prison and a jail.  This course will investigate the conditions of mass incarceration in America by centering the municipal jail. Taking as objects of study both the jail itself and the practice of incarcerating people in local jails, this course will combine scholarly work on U.S. criminal justice with a variety of non-academic texts including legal decisions, contemporary journalism, and documentary film. The course is focused on jails writ large,  but as we are living in New York City, we will pay particular attention throughout the semester to our own municipal jail system.