state:
Rhode Island
Local history:
Locked Up—Understanding Prison in Pre-Modern Context
How do prisons reflect societal values?
Brown University
Exhibiting Partner:
University of Rhode Island Gallery, Providence Campus
80 Washington Street, 1st and 2nd floor Lobby Gallery, Providence RI 02903-1819
August 29, 2016September 23, 2016

States of Incarceration is now at the Levine Museum in Charlotte, NC

States of Incarceration is extended in NC! September 23, 2023 - January 31, 2023 at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, NC!

401 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

go to www.museumofthenewsouth.org for more information.

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Rhode Island: Locked Up—Understanding Prison in Pre-Modern Context
How do prisons reflect societal values?
Brown University

Pre-modern prisons were markedly different from the system of hyper-incarceration in the United States today. The patterns of pre-modern captivity varied radically across eras and continents, but they consistently reflected the religious, economic, and political tenets of their respective societies. The manifestations of these cultural values within prisons had a profound effect on individuals, who in turn shaped their societies’ understandings of captivity. By analyzing the physical and social structures of pre-modern prisons and the experiences of those in captivity, we gain enough historical context to realize that current system of mass incarceration in the United States is not an inevitable outcome.

Our Point of View

We are undergraduates from diverse academic backgrounds, aware of contemporary national issues of mass incarceration and their ties to history. In the Fall of 2015, we learned alongside students at the Adult Correctional Institute of Rhode Island, reading historical and fictional prison narratives, examining complementary images, and exploring the global history of captivity in order to better understand prison as a social and political tool from the pre-modern era to the contemporary moment.

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Rhode Island: Locked Up—Understanding Prison in Pre-Modern Context    Brown University
How do prisons reflect societal values?
Rhode Island: Locked Up—Understanding Prison in Pre-Modern Context
How do prisons reflect societal values?
  Brown University

National Exhibition Venue    University of Rhode Island Gallery, Providence Campus

Public Dialogues and Events
| August 29 – September 23, 2016

See Full Exhibition & Events Schedule
“For those living without these experiences, how do we cultivate empathy?”  — Anonymous
“I feel upset and angry at the way the justice system works. I feel powerless. ”  — Brown Student

Events:

Date: 
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Date: 
Thursday, September 15, 2016

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