IWU/Lawrence Correctional Reading Group
Major
English – Literature
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Humanities
Faculty Advisor
Joanne Diaz
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 8:30 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 9:45 AM
Abstract
This poster presentation shares the work of “Open Doors,” which functions as an inside-out program and a credit-bearing supervised internship in which four students and an English professor from Illinois Wesleyan University host a literary workshop with individuals in custody at the Lawrence Correctional Facility in Sumner, Illinois. Before meeting with individuals at Lawrence, these students read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander to discuss mass incarceration and contemporary justice systems with social justice-minded IWU professors. Students and prison participants curated a list of texts for literary analysis, reflection, and discussion. “Open Doors” participants create writing prompts to facilitate discussion on the literary texts. In January, IWU participants visited Lawrence to conduct a group discussion on Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and plan to visit again in April. The goals of this literary workshop are to establish a mutual understanding of others’ circumstances, craft a literary magazine that features inmates’ original, artistic works, and pilot a continuous program between Illinois Wesleyan and the Lawrence Correctional Facility.
IWU/Lawrence Correctional Reading Group
CNS Atrium
This poster presentation shares the work of “Open Doors,” which functions as an inside-out program and a credit-bearing supervised internship in which four students and an English professor from Illinois Wesleyan University host a literary workshop with individuals in custody at the Lawrence Correctional Facility in Sumner, Illinois. Before meeting with individuals at Lawrence, these students read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander to discuss mass incarceration and contemporary justice systems with social justice-minded IWU professors. Students and prison participants curated a list of texts for literary analysis, reflection, and discussion. “Open Doors” participants create writing prompts to facilitate discussion on the literary texts. In January, IWU participants visited Lawrence to conduct a group discussion on Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and plan to visit again in April. The goals of this literary workshop are to establish a mutual understanding of others’ circumstances, craft a literary magazine that features inmates’ original, artistic works, and pilot a continuous program between Illinois Wesleyan and the Lawrence Correctional Facility.