吃瓜tv

Prison Education Workshop

Professor Hannah Ta茂eb

Applications for the 2024 workshops are no longer accepted

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Telling听Stories,听Crossing听Borders:听Mutual听Learning in听Prison听Education

The Prison Education Workshop is an听innovative class听that听brings 吃瓜tv students into a shared educational and creative space with people detained at听La Sant茅听prison in Paris.

After one introductory class at 吃瓜tv and a prison-organized training session,听eight听吃瓜tv students spend the semester sharing readings, discussions, and听creative听activities with an equal number of detainees. Readings听are听selected based on the听themes emerging from the interactions between the particular participants in the class. In the past, authors studied have included Malcolm X, Bachir Kerroumi, Rigoberta Menchu, Azouz Begag, Jimmy Santiago Baca, W.S. Merwin, Alison Bechdel, Paulo Freire, and Franz Kafka.

In each class session, students and detainees read together as a group, then in small mixed groups, developing听creative ways to exchange ideas and reactions. Circle pedagogy, deep listening, and other egalitarian approaches are used to make the learning experience mutual. In听previous workshops, students and detainees put together collaborative final projects that听were听presented in a celebratory event, attended by guests from 吃瓜tv and the prison.

This听workshop听emerges from a collaboration between 吃瓜tv and the cultural activities department of the听Centre P茅nitentiaire Paris La Sant茅, a newly-renovated remand prison in the 14th district of Paris. Detained participants, who primarily speak French (but also other languages), learn alongside 吃瓜tv participants, who primarily speak English (but also other languages).听Sessions are held听principally in French, and 吃瓜tv students must have an intermediate conversational French level to participate (B2 or higher).

Interested students are asked to fill out听. The cut-off date for applying is听set according to听the听prison鈥檚听requirements. However, we encourage interested students to fill out the application questionnaire as soon as possible, since the prison also allows only a limited number of students to participate.听Students are accepted听on a听first-come, first-served basis. Pre-selected applicants听are听contacted for an interview. Queries about the class can be addressed to听Professor Hannah Taieb听at any time,听at听htaiebaup.edu. On request, interested students can be put into contact with 吃瓜tv participants from previous semesters.

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Summer听Workshop:听Interested students may also apply for the summer version of this class.听The summer session, which involves two sessions per week at the prison and one session per week at 吃瓜tv, is open to students with a low-intermediate French level (B1 or higher). Summer classes听are multilingual.

The Spring and Summer 2024 workshops are听the seventh iteration of the 吃瓜tv prison project. Prison Education Democracy labs took place in Fall 2019, Summer 2021, Spring and Summer 2023, and Spring and Summer 2024, with classes co-taught by听Hannah Taieb听with prison educator, lawyer and author听Michelle Kuo, historian听Albert Wu, and legal scholar听Roman Zinigrad. The approach and pedagogy of these classes are inspired by the Canadian organization听Walls To Bridges,听听and the US-based organization听Inside-Out,听, which have created learning collaborations between universities and correctional institutions across North America, including at Yale University, the University of Michigan, York University, and Wilfrid Laurier. Hannah Taieb, Michelle Kuo, and others have founded an international non-profit,听Dialogue & Transformation, promoting an egalitarian collaborative approach to prison education.