Call for Manuscripts for the Inaugural Issue

Higher Education in Prison: Foundations and Futures

The Journal of Higher Education in Prison (JHEP) invites manuscripts for its inaugural issue. JHEP (est. 2019) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes solely on topics and issues in higher education in prison, and provides the field of higher education in prison a forum to discuss praxis and the ways that theory can and should inform teaching and learning in prison. This inaugural volume aims to bring scholars and practitioners together to engage analyses and theorizations on field- and foundation-building, alongside the possible imagined futures of higher education in prison. At its core, this volume is rooted in a desire for a world where systemic punishment is not a central feature of life in the United States.

As a growing field, one that has received more public attention than ever before, higher education in prison practitioners, teachers, students and other stakeholders have an enormous opportunity to contribute to and shape public and academic discussion on the practice of teaching and learning inside prisons in the U.S., and the various pathways and relations that are forged into communities. With only a small body of literature focused on the theories and practices of higher education in prison and the field more broadly, this inaugural volume is an opportunity to lay the groundwork for subsequent literature on the field higher education in prison.

We invite manuscripts that provide theoretically grounded and imaginative visions for postsecondary education inside prisons (including pathways to/from higher education in prison), that are not anchored in the study of crime or criminal behavior. Authors are invited to submit conceptual, empirical, theoretical, historical and pedagogical manuscripts, that approach field- and foundation-building from a variety of perspectives, frameworks, and positionalities, such as, research-based, case study, systemic literature reviews or meta-analysis, and/or policy analysis.

Because of this volume’s broad focus, contributions should not be limited to singular analyses of a programmatic approach or a singular definition of “the field of higher education in prison”. Certainly, there is value in learning about an individual program and some value to establishing a common vision of a field, but the contours and ecosystem of ideas and practices comprising the field of higher education in prison are dynamic and porous – reflective of the many different ways to engage this work. This volume takes a systems-approach in the spirit of moving the field forward and building a strong foundation and imaginative notions about futures. Authors who wish to write about an individual program or experience should be sure to make connections to the broader field.

All manuscripts should attend to the central questions of this volume: What is the field of higher education in prison, and what does it mean to be a ‘field’? and may address, but are not limited to, the following questions:

• What are the greatest barriers to building the field of higher education in prison?
• What are the various tensions within higher education in prison?
• What are the possibilities and/or limitations of higher education in prison?
• In what ways does/doesn’t/should the work of higher education in prison align with various forms of equity, including those centered on race, gender, class, sex, ability, citizenship, and related forms of power?
• What kind of future(s) should be imagined and worked toward for higher education in prison, including a future without prisons?
• What kinds of thinking and interventions does abolitionist politics contribute to higher education in prison, and what are the barriers to imagining a future without prisons?
• In what ways are and/or should data and research be used to create a foundation for quality higher education in prison?
• What contribution can higher education in prison make to higher education more broadly?
• If, and in what ways should, the work of higher education in prison align with broader human rights movements and calls for a more just political structuring?

In considering higher education in prison, we especially seek manuscripts authored and/or co-authored by incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and directly impacted people; co-written essays among diverse stakeholders; and other collaborative configurations. Future volumes may address issues related to teaching, teacher training, pedagogy, policy, and practice.

All submissions will be reviewed in a manner consistent with the journal’s mission. Authors and reviewers are able to choose either a “masked” or “unmasked” review process. A full overview of the Submission and Review Process can be found on the journal’s website. The Editorial Advisory Board is composed of scholars and researchers working in and shaping the growing field of higher education in prison, including scholars and researchers who are currently and formerly incarcerated. To learn more about JHEP’s mission and vision, editorial policies, submission and review processes and Editorial Board, visit: https://www.higheredinprison.org/journal-of-higher-education-in-prison.

To be considered for the inaugural issue, please review the submission and manuscript guidelines, and submit completed manuscripts to the online portal by September 15, 2020. Hand-written manuscripts should also be received at the following address no later than September 15, 2020. Hand-written manuscripts should be sent to:

Alliance for Higher Education in Prison
Attn: Journal of Higher Education in Prison
1801 N. Broadway, Suite 417
Denver, CO 80202

Please direct all submission related questions to: ‍

jhep@higheredinprison.org with the subject line “JHEP Submission”.

Relevant web links are as follows:

Journal of Higher Education in Prison website: https://www.higheredinprison.org/journal-of-higher-education-in-prison

Manuscript submission platform Scholastica: https://higheredinprison.scholasticahq.com/

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