MACS 199

Fall 2011

All Classes
Undergraduate Open Seminar
Course in Catalog
List of Terms offered
Register for Classes

Credit: 1 TO 5 hours.

May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours in separate semesters if topics vary.

My Favorites
My Schedule
Section Status updates every 10 minutes.
CRN Type Section Time Day Location Instructor Section Details
57943
Lecture-Discussion
DIS
3:00PM -4:50PM
TR
G46 Foreign Languages Building
Pinkert, A
Part of Term:
1
Date Range:
08/22/11-12/07/11
Credit:
3 hours
Section Title:
Prison Break
Section Info:
Topic: Prison Break: Incarceration and Justice in Movies and Public Media n recent years, reality TV shows set in prisons have become a significant part of mass culture. In many cases, these shows portray prisoners as caged in predators and the prison as sensationalist battlefield. Movies, in contrast, tend to focus on the heroic struggle of an innocent person who became the victim of a flawed criminal justice system. In this course, we will analyze how and to what end movies and the media represent prisons and incarcerated people. Examining TV shows, movies, documentaries, autobiographies, and essays, we will explore the following questions: Who are the people who are locked out from our society? What social role do prisons play as institutions of confinement and rehabilitation? How do race, gender, and class shape the experience and representation of incarceration? What are the models of punishment, transformation, accountability and forgiveness promoted by movies and other media? And finally, what can we learn about ourselves and about our social and ethical responsibilities as citizens from contemporary narratives of imprisonment and justice? In this course, students will learn more generally how to interpret narratives, moving images, and media representations. More specifically, we will critically engage with notions of personal and social transformation through narratives and representations of incarceration (weekly reflection papers, midterm, and final project, 3 credits. Meets with GER 199-DIS (CRN 55883)
Restriction(s):
Restricted to First Time Freshman students.
COURSE EXPLORER
Email: Course Explorer Feedback

OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR | 901 W. Illinois Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Site developed by: Technology Services at Illinois | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
1102 Digital Computer Laboratory | MC-256 | Urbana, IL 61801 | phone 217-244-7000