Inside Out at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility (MYCF)
How do I transform my own life? How do I transform my community and the world? This course provides an opportunity for a small group of students from PSU and a small group of students incarcerated at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility (MYCF) to work together in a structured peer and collaborative learning environment to address these questions. Each week, a small group of PSU students and incarcerated young men will meet at MYCF in Woodburn. Students (both outside PSU and inside students) will examine their own perceptions about personal and social transformation, and examine and develop their perceptions of themselves as agents of change. Together we will study historical and contemporary examples that will help us understand personal transformation and social change. Participants will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a variety of social justice issues through readings, film and discussion. Additionally, as a whole group, students will decide upon and complete a community-based learning project, addressing a social justice issue agreed upon by the participants. All students (inside and outside) will have equal ownership of and participation in the project, and will thus contribute to the positive transformation of themselves, their community and the world.
“If you don’t already know about the Inside-Out program, check it out and get involved! It’s so important that we end the separation between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – those labeled ‘prisoners,’ ‘criminals,’ ‘felons.’ It is this separation and demonization of the ‘others’ – and our failure to truly see, hear, and engage with those who have been locked up and locked out – that makes it easy for us to remain in deep denial about what we, as a nation, have done. Inside-Out challenges that denial in a powerful way.”
– Michelle Alexander
Author of The New Jim Crow:
Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
School Behind Bars: How College Kids and Incarcerated Youth Benefit From Learning Together
Yes! Magazine highlights the impact of Capstone students in their Peace and Justice section.
Metamorphosis: Creating Positive Futures
Winter 2015 Capstone class created a book, highlighting their term project. Available for preview or purchase by following the link above (proceeds benefit the Scholarship Fund of Janus Youth Services).
THIS CAPSTONE REQUIRES DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL. A MEETING WITH THE INSTRUCTOR AND BACKGROUND CHECKS MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION. PLEASE CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR AT debs@pdx.edu.
