Mass Incarceration: A Syllabus

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The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, both in absolute numbers and on a per capita basis. Reveal Digital’s American Prison Newspapers collection is designed to elevate incarcerated voices and offer new breadth and depth to our understanding of prisons and imprisonment. On Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022, our own formerly incarcerated engagement editor Morgan Godvin joined interdisciplinary prison scholar Ashley Rubin for a conversation about this history of mass incarceration. The event, hosted and moderated by our friends at Knowable Magazine, is archived available to watch here.

We are actively seeking new content for the American Prison Newspapers project, please see our submissions guide. Here is a roundup of past stories we have published that can help explain various facets of the complex history of mass incarceration. We welcome reader feedback for coverage.

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Sing Sing prison, with warden T. M. Osborne and two other men, c. 1915

Were Early American Prisons Similar to Today’s?

Charles Neal

January 19, 2022

A correctional officer’s history of 19th century prisons and modern-day parallels. From Sing Sing to suicide watch, torture treads a fine line.

Female prisoners at Parchman sewing, c. 1930  By Mississippi Department of Archives and History [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

A History of Women’s Prisons

Jessica Pishko

March 4, 2015

While women's prisons historically emphasized the virtues of traditional femininity, the conditions of these prisons were abominable.

The cover of Adelante from April 1, 1972

50 Years Later: The Evolution of Prison Policy

Morgan Godvin

January 4, 2022

Buried within Adelante is evidence of a fleeting attempt at prison reform and oversight in Connecticut. Is history repeating itself?

Introducing American Prison Newspapers, 1800-2020: Voices from the Inside

Kate McQueen

September 22, 2021

This overlooked corner of the press provided news by and for people who were incarcerated. A newly available archive shows it worked hard to reach outside audiences too.

Bringing Education to Prisoners

Livia Gershon

October 23, 2015

Is there an alternative to the punitive treatment of criminals? We look at the history of correctional education reforms within the American prison system.