Please join us for a “What I Am Thinking About Now” presentation by Lisa Biggs, Assistant Professor, Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre, Brown University.

“Black Women, Prisoner Art, and Transformation”
Though largely overlooked in dominant discourses about mass incarceration, for some 30 years, Black women have been the fastest growing segment of the U.S. prisoner population. Despite pressure to lock them up and throw away the keys, at a handful of correctional facilities imprisoned women are allowed to participate in “rehabilitative” educational, vocational, and recreational programming. Drama Clubs allow them to read published plays, learn basic playwriting skills, and develop their own original scripts. In some cases, they may even be allowed to perform their works for select audiences of other inmates, prison administrators, vand local legislators. With this talk, Professor Biggs wants to unpack contemporary ideas about the causes of women’s crime and think through the question, what role do the arts have in prisoner “rehabilitation”?

RSVP: [email protected]. Snacks and caffeine will be provided.

“What I Am Thinking About Now” is an on-going informal workshop/seminar series to which faculty and graduate students are invited to present and discuss recently published work and work in progress. All are invited to attend and participate.