Dr. Edward McGushin and Dr. Elaine Rizzo: Plato in Prison

Dr. Edward McGushin of the Philosophy Department is teaching Plato's Republic: An Introduction to Western Philosophy to a class of women incarcerated at the New Hampshire Prison for Women. This course is made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council awarded to The Consortium on Justice and Society. The purpose of this grant is to bring the humanities to underserved populations, such as incarcerated women. Dr. Elaine Rizzo, co-chair of the Consortium on Justice and Society, is project director. In its award letter, the New Hampshire Humanities Council stated that, "The Committee was particularly impressed by the purpose the humanities are put to in this proposal-encouraging the acquisition of critical thinking skills in an effort to promote moral reason and self-empowerment among incarcerated women." 

The course meets weekly at the prison for 13 class sessions. Three service learning students from Dr. McGushin's First Year Humanities Seminar are participating as peer mentors who, in addition to attending each class, facilitate a weekly study group at the prison. The students are Karen Clark, Caitlyn Miller, and Jessica St. Laurent. It is hoped that this will be the first of several humanities courses taught at the prison. Any faculty who are interested in learning more about this project are encouraged to contact either Dr. McGushin or Dr. Rizzo.