S5. Doing Prison Public History: Examples and Challenges
The first of many sessions dedicated to the topic of mass incarceration, this panel examined how the histories of prisons, criminal justice, and mass incarceration are conveyed to the public. Panelists discussed experiences interpreting such histories in prison museums, for the media, and exhibits
Despite the early (8:30 am) start, many participants were eager to join in the discussion!
Gearing up for my first panel of the day! Doing Prison Public History, #s5. @umassph alum @juliegpeterson presenting! #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Prisons and public history #ncph2017 #s5
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
A little late, but tweeting #NCPH2017 #S5 Doing Prison Public History
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Julie Peterson started with an analysis of the Museum of Colorado Prisons, in Cañon City, CO, sited next to an active prison. The discussion revolved around the appeal of dark tourism and finding a middle ground between interpreting stories of correctional officers and incarcerated people.
Museum of Colorado Prisons analyzed by @juliegpeterson emphasis on correctional officers; silences and obscures prisoners #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Why are people drawn to prisons as tourist attractions? #ncph2017 #s5
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
What rights do prisoners have and how do we talk about punishment in the distant past #ncph2017 #s5
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Erica Fagen: Online reviews of prison museum serve as a warning to youth: this is what it was like! Dark & macabre.#s5#ncph2017@juliegpeterson
Prison artifacts highly sensationalized. Dark tourism sells, right? People want to see grim things. @juliegpeterson #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Museum of Colorado Prisons est. 1988, wanted "realistic view," but visitors mostly "disturbed and intrigued" #NCPH2017 #S5 @juliegpeterson
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Museum of Colorado Prisons sensastionalizes crime; makes light of the experience of incarceration @juliegpeterson #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Sponsoring your own prison cell as a fundraising event, enabling you to spend a night in the new facility #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Feeding on the misfortunes of those inside by creating tourist attraction and sponsorship at the prison/museum #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Next up was Annie Anderson from Eastern State Penitentiary, discussing the multiple challenges and rewards of developing “Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration.”
Annie Anderson connects the history of @easternstate to current crises of mass incarceration #S5 #NCPH2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Annie Anderson: museums and historic sites are NOT neutral sites. Agreed! #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Museums are staffed and visited by multiple subjectivies #ncph2017 #s5
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Anderson: @easternstate Design emphasized silence, surveillance, solitude #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Today @easternstate mission is to place current issues of justice in historical framework #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
White, middle class, leisure travelers are who visit @easternstate #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Anderson: during program revision, saw contemporary issues literally on margins of the building. Avoidance! @easternstate #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Eastern State Penitentiary built the Big Graph to centralize contemporary corrections in its interpretation.
Anderson: US has no historical precedent/ no international counterpart for current rate of incarceration. #ncph2017 #S5
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Big Graph intentionally uses the word "crisis" when displaying statistics of racial makeup of prison population. #ncph2017 #s5 #easternstate
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Engage visitors in discussion about incarceration, ask them how prison system should change. @easternstate #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
How would you like to see the US prison system change? #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Community stakeholders and visitors were involved throughout the development of “Prisons Today.”
Anderson: Also working to humanize history and experience of mass incarceration @easternstate #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Visitors as co-creators of @easternstate #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Eastern State wants to involve visitors in more contemporary analyses of incarceration. They want to engage. #s5 #ncph2017 pic.twitter.com/yIhzr63hi9
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Think of visitors as co-creators of content and knowledge; new exhibits come from visitor questions @easternstate #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Visitors as co-creators; use of prototyping important #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Most visitors to @easternstate have no relation to the criminal justice system #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Anderson: facilitated conversation, helps visitors to think about connection between privilege and incarceration @easternstate #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Race, class, family/friends, education have influence on prisons #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Museum asks visitors to "check your privilege." They want to challenges people's perceptions. #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Changed "privilege" to "advantages and disadvantages." Goal is empathy, "privilege" alienating #ncph2017 #S5 @easternstate
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Goals: fostering empathy; Fears: alienating visitors #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Exhibit does not ask "is mass incarceration working?" It states "Mass incarceration is NOT working." @easternstate #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Anderson: Exhibit asks: "have you ever committed a crime?" No? Then you enter "Liars Corridor." @easternstate #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
.@easternstate "Prisons Today" shows that policy changes rather than changes in behavior have driven mass incarceration #s5 #ncph2017
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Anderson said @easternstate was worried about being "too political," but site found a way to engage in political discussion #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Holly Genovese and Joana Arruda next presented their research into the history of prison labor in Philadelphia, which will be culminating in a hands-on exhibit hosted at the Church of the Advocate.
Joana and Holly up! Making @TempleUHistory proud #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
.@arrudajoana1 on history of prison labor in Philadelphia #s5 #ncph2017 pic.twitter.com/YUZhow2iTu
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
"Except as Punishment for a Crime", working exhibit on prison manufacturing #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Genesis of project: bicentennial license plate material culture project #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
License plates manufactured in prisons. In 1924 11,000 plates were produced at Western State Penitentiary #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
1953 riot at Western State destroyed part of license plate factory #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Arruda: Wanted her research to lead to a public presentation, make incarcerated labor visible. Partnered with Genovese #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Manufacturing is very hidden but gain a lot of power and visibility with license plates on every car #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Goals of display: have visitors confront complicity in prison labor and highlight products of that labor in visual landscape #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Philacor & Big House Industries make all kinds of products (road signs, furniture, soap, mattresses, etc) sold to gov entities #ncph2017 #s5
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Government offices, schools, and non profits purchase prison-made goods in Pennsylvania #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Material environment of public schools, public universities, city government made by incarcerated labor #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Are you in college and living in a dorm? More often than not your mattress was made by prison labor #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Church with long history of social justice activism #ncph2017 #s5 https://t.co/cFeziUT0wc
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Partnered with Church of the Advocate, African American congregation, on exhibition #S5 #ncph2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Church congregation includes large number of formerly incarcerated people. #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Genovese: will display artifacts in church sanctuary and they will develop educational programming in cooperation with church #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Display will not be in cases, want people to be able to touch and interact with them #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Public history as art and activism #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Influenced by Tammy Gordon's work –most people access history outside of traditional museums #S5 #ncph2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Public history does not need to be in historic institutions or museums, but in areas where people will be impacted the most #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Genovese: Would also like to create a digital exhibition; donate artifacts to local museums to expand the reach #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Finally, Jeff Hall wrapped up by sharing his personal and intellectual relationship to prisons, and his journey in engaging the public with that history.
Jeff Hall, CUNY, has found himself transitioning from being a traditional historian to engaging public with his research #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
And finally Jeff Hall "Doing Prison History in Prisonland: The New York Experience" #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Jeff Hall's personal experiences growing up shaped his development into a scholar. Father was a correctional officer. #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
"Unpleasant job" changed his father; mother facilitated Jeff's youthful historic inquiry #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
History provided escape but also a way to understand his father and the surrounding community #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
Hall's dissertation looks at development of prisons in Adirondack State Park in upstate NY as an environmental problem #ncph2017 #s5
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Many prisons are being built in state parks in New York #s5 #ncph2017
— Amanda Sherry (@_a_sherry_) April 20, 2017
Hall: work asks what happens on a daily basis when a prison is operating inside a community, a state park, etc #NCPH2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Hall: there is resistance among local community in upstate NY to learn about its history re incarceration. #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Hall: Wanted to get his research to the public; academic conferences are not the venue for that; sought other opportunities #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Hall: Two prisoners escaped from Clinton prison in June 2015; Governor's response included historical misrepresentations #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Breaking news (2015 escape) as opportunity to set the record straight and engage different audience #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
How did Hall take his research "public?" He participated in media programs as an expert in prison history in upstate NY. #s5 #ncph2017
— Erica Fagen, Ph.D. (@erfagen) April 20, 2017
Hall: Became the called upon expert and was on a variety of television and radio shows. #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
I think it is crucial to differentiate between being a public intellectual, expert-on-call and being a public historian #S5 #ncph2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Hall: Got involved with John Brown Lives! and gave several lectures to public audiences in upstate NY #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Lively Q & A brought up uses of history as social justice, shared authority, representation, popular culture, and the importance of language.
https://twitter.com/Raboyl/status/855052785645211648
https://twitter.com/oldelectricity/status/855056288824295424
Panel attendee highlights importance of language- incarcerated person/formerly incarcerated vs. inmate or convict #s5 #ncph2017
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Comment to Anderson from PhD candidate who has worked in re-entry: really appreciates thoughtful use of language #S5 #NCPH2017 @easternstate
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/Raboyl/status/855057296631750660
.@HollyEvanMarie and @arrudajoana1 hope to take their exhibit to the Inside-Out Think Tank at Graterford #ncph2017 #s5
— Julie Peterson (@juliegpeterson) April 20, 2017
Hall: If we can connect officers and formerly incarcerated people, possible to identify commonalities, build empathy #S5 #ncph2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Colorado Museum of Prisons established and run by former corrections officers; has a defensive posture #ncph2017 #S5 @juliegpeterson
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Hall: finding folks ready to share their story is 🔑 #ncph2017 #s5
— Ted Maust (@theodeomutts) April 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/Raboyl/status/855057673926180865
Question: How does popular culture shape preconceived notions about incarceration? #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Anderson: in some ways it helps that mass incarceration is represented in popular culture, people arrive with some empathy #S5 #ncph2017
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Anderson: "There is a lot of ignorance but also a lot of humanity on all side of the issue." #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Question: what is the interplay between expectations for a "thrill" and more political goals? #ncph2017 #S5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
Anderson: @easternstate provides both the "mob history" type tours and more critical #ncph2017 #s5
— Denise D. Meringolo (@DDMeringolo) April 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/Raboyl/status/855058809273946115
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