SOC 154 The Ills of Incarceration During a Pandemic
Prison Pandemic
The Prison Pandemic archive—composed of hundreds of calls and letters from people incarcerated in California’s 35 prisons-provides the first window into how those incarcerated are experiencing the pandemic. The purpose of this project is to increase public awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic in carcéral facilities, to contribute to research and knowledge about the pandemic in these facilities, and to inform litigation about incarceration conditions during the pandemic.
More the Stories on Prison Pandemic
· Choose one of the following topical areas that you would like to investigate: (1) prison conditions, (2) family, (3) infection. (4) stress, and (5) programs. You can find these stories corresponding to these topical areas by going to the Prison Directory, choosing a specific California prison, and then navigating to the themes under “The stories”.
· Listen to at least 10 stories related to the theme of your choosing. You should choose stories from multiple prisons.
Writing Assignment
Write a paper that addresses the following three questions:
· What did you learn from PrisonPandemic about your topical area?
· How does what you learned from PrisonPandemic correspond to what you have learned from course lectures, course readings, and resources outside of class (see below)?
· To what extent does incarceration serve as a social determinant of health? How so?
Some course topics that are illustrated in the PrisonPandemic stories include the following: the social determinants of health, stressors and health, health behaviors and illness behaviors, and social networks and health. Choose at least one of these topics (or another relevant course topic) to elaborate upon. Be specific in linking the stories from PrisonPandemic to course materials. It may be helpful to draw on direct quotes from the PrisonPandemic stories in writing your paper.
Use your sociological imagination.
“The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals… the idea that the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances.” — C. Wright Mills (1959).
Details
The assignment should be three to four pages in length, double-spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font, one- inch margins, and proper citations (both within the text and with a ‘works cited’ or ‘references’ section). At a minimum, your paper must include the following: (1) a clear introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. (2) body paragraphs that support and extend your thesis statement, and (3) a concluding paragraph that summarizes what you have discussed.
Additionally, you must use three resources from outside of class. These resources must be from academic journals (not newspapers or magazines).
You may use any style of citation (such as, APA or MLA). but please be consistent throughout the paper. The ‘works cited’ section does not count toward the page limit. You will be graded on your ability to prove your main argument or thesis. You will also be graded on spelling and grammar, as incorrect usage can inhibit your ability to communicate your ideas.