Research Opportunities
The Center for Justice is looking for Research Assistants to work within different sectors of the From the Inside Out project, which is an action-research-based multidisciplinary project that advocates for the use of humanizing language and representative imagery and depictions of people in prison to decrease punitive triggers in the US criminal justice system, as well as to change the existing negative narratives of people in prison and those formerly incarcerated. The core hypothesis of this project is that the widespread pejorative labels and depictions of people touched by the criminal justice system—in both real life and the media—dehumanize incarcerated populations. This tendency contributes to the maintenance of punitive attitudes, abusive penal policies, a general desensitization to prison malpractices and, ultimately, a reluctance to the reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals into society. Thus, targeting negative label use and misrepresentations of people in prison could have the impact of reducing dehumanization and its detrimental consequences for the lives of whose who are or have been affected by the prison system.
FILM AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Justice Scholars Video Series
Justice in Education Scholar program will be producing short documentaries for the Justice-In-Education website. The aim of these videos is to highlight both the individual work and successes of past and present scholars, and some of the unique experiences of the JIE program itself. We hope these will not only showcase the strength of the program, but serve as an extension of its objectives by offering a platform for scholars to shape their public presence in new ways.
Leading Activism With Art, The Confined Arts
Film series that documents artists who use their own personal art medium as a vehicle for promoting change. Subjects will first give an historical example of how art has been used to create social change in the past. The purpose of these examples is to bridge the gap between historical art-based activism and current efforts to influence change through the arts. Subjects will also speak from a personal perspective about the transformative power of the arts and what and/or who influences their art and activism today.
We are currently producing our second edition scheduled to premiere Spring 2019. Art is at the forefront of change. The process begins when we imagine a new world, one that is devoid of stigma and inequality. Resourceful artistic creativity within social change is one of the most influential and sometimes overlooked methods of problem solving. When rational lived experiences are not enough to change people’s minds, attitudes, and behavior, art and popular culture have the potential to touch people on deeper levels of consciousness.
Email Pastor Isaac Scott [email protected] to learn more about film and media opportunities