XU/LeCI Inside-Out Class - Spring 2023
The Xavier Department of Criminal Justice offers YOU the chance to spend time behind bars in three different state prisons – and earn 3 hours credit while you do it!
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is unlike any class you have ever had. The course meets inside one of two men's prisons located approximately 25 miles north of Xavier University or at a women's prison 48 miles north of Xavier University. The class combines Xavier students with an equal number of incarcerated men at Warren Correctional Institute in the Fall semester and Lebanon Correctional Institute in the Spring semester or incarcerated women at Dayton Correctional Institute in the Fall semester. Both Xavier and incarcerated students have the same syllabus and academic requirements. For years, dozens of Xavier students-from all majors-have been transformed by the Inside-Out class.
The curriculum at Warren and Lebanon Correctional Institutions (level 3 state men's prison) includes the exploration of why people commit crime, the purpose of prison, analysis of the criminal justice system, punishment and rehabilitation, the intersection of race, class, and sex in the criminal justice system, victims and victimization, and the myths and realities of prison life, while the curriculum at Dayton Correctional Institution (a women's prison) in the Fall includes pathways into crime, the importance of gender-specific rehabilitation, the role of children, victimization, the myths and realities of prison life, and dependency.
This class embodies Cura Studiorum in three ways. First, students will engage in Ignatian civic engagement, where students model civil discourse across difference can continually frame and reframe their own views of the world, reflecting on their maturing values and commitments. Second, students will be exposed to an immersive, high-impact, experiential learning environment that fosters enriched comprehensive and understanding through transformative opportunities. Third, students will experience inclusive pedagogy that recognizes all students, regardless of lived experience, have the capacity and the entitlement to thrive.
Inside-Out fulfills the diversity Core requirement and is an elective for criminal justice and other majors at Xavier. To be considered for the course, students are required to fill out an application. Applicants who make it through the first round of screening will be required attend an interview with Dr. Cheryl Lero Jonson for the Warren Correctional and Lebanon Correctional courses or Dr. Gail Hurst for the Dayton Correctional course. Class size is very limited, so if you have questions, please contact:
Dr. Cheryl Lero Jonson at jonsonc@xavier.edu for information on the Warren Correctional and Lebanon Correctional courses.
Dr. Gail Hurst at hurst@xavier.edu for information on the Dayton Correctional course.
To be considered for this unique learning opportunity, please click on the Application Process tab to the left.
XU/DCI Inside-Out Class - Fall 2023