Limited Resources, Unlimited Imagination: Science Fiction and Sociology in Prison Classrooms

• In Event: Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 2: Creative Teaching Practices

Abstract

Teaching in carceral settings poses unique challenges. Without access to the internet, and access to limited and pre-approved books, traditional sociological assignments like research papers become difficult, if not impossible. One way to deal with this is through the use of fiction, and specifically science fiction. Rather than writing a traditional research paper, students spend class time learning sociological theory then apply these theories to write their own science fiction story. For example, extending Weber's concept of the iron cage of bureaucracy, one student wrote about a world in which people must go through an arduous application process to continue living each year. Another drawing from personal experience as an incarcerated person and conflict theory imagined a world in which upper class people are given names while lower class people are assigned numbers. To further enhance students commitment to the assignment we publish the stories in a physical compilation book at the end of the semester. These stories are not a final paper that is thrown away once the class ends, they are part of a larger project that others will read and of which they are proud. While initially the result of prison limitations, I've found that this approach to learning sociology helps students develop a deeper understanding of theory as they go beyond recitation and apply theory in creative and novel ways.

Author

• Michael D Briscoe, Colorado State University-Pueblo