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There is no shortage of writing describing the transformative impacts of postsecondary prison-based teaching and learning. Indeed, one need not look far to encounter a collection of transformation-oriented claims about teaching and learning in prison. Higher education in prison is described as liberatory and emancipatory. As critical or radical. As life-changing. As truly transformational. Some of the more commonly represented examples in the literature and scholarship seem to require transformation as part of the work, and the need for a demonstrable change in students and/or instructors. Compounding an absence of nuance, the majority of narratives to which people currently have access are published by non-incarcerated individuals, namely instructors who travel in and out of prisons and document this transformation for readers.
Experiencing dramatic changes and gaining new insights and perspectives have long been the cornerstones of theories of teaching and learning in education, and particularly theories born of a critical or poststructural tradition. In Teaching to Transgress, for example, bell hooks (1994) describes education as the practice of freedom. She calls for an engaged teaching practice that focuses on well-being and self-actualization that is “healing to the uninformed, unknowing spirit” (p. 19). Enhancing capacities to live full and meaningful lives, education as the practice of freedom is but one of a multitude of approaches that seek to guide people toward critical consciousness. In her letter to Paulo Freire, Michelle Fine (1997) referred to this collective guidance as “connected raindrops of radical consciousness, spread globally” (p. 90).
This Call for Submissions problematizes the prison classroom as a unique site for critical or radical pedagogical work. We invite narratives of fracture, unknowing, discomfort, and failure; written work that challenges neat narratives of transformation or completeness. We invite authors to wrestle with the ambiguity of teaching and learning in prison and provide visions for what could be, how, and with whom. The recent and widespread prevalence of transformation discourses offers us the possibility to question (and complicate) the requirement of radical transformation that is often placed on students. In this light, we must ask: Does the prison classroom require a specific kind of educational practice? What are the theoretical and political issues that a "prison pedagogy" would inevitably carry within itself?
We invite submissions for Volume Two of the Journal of Higher Education in Prison to respond to the following prompt: What are the possibilities and limitations of teaching and learning in prison spaces? This is an expansive call and we encourage authors to think toward futures and urgencies, considering what teaching and learning in higher education in prison could and should look like, feel like, and be, within the many spaces and places that education in prison occurs. We anticipate various angles and topics in response to this prompt, but we are especially interested in submissions that address themes that are currently underrepresented in the higher education in prison literature, which may or may not include: abolition, accommodations, censorship, failure, identity, savorism, trauma, technology, white supremacy, and/or other urgencies.
Fine, M. (1997). A letter to Paulo. Chapter Five in Counterpoints, Mentoring the mentor: A critical dialogue with Paulo Freire, 89-97.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.
For inspiration, we encourage authors to explore the publications listed below and/or share them with potential authors. Printed copies for currently incarcerated authors can be requested via: jhep@higheredinprison.org or by using the mailing address at the end of the Call for Submissions. Currently we are able to send 2-3 selected articles (please be clear in your request which 2-3 articles you would like to be sent to you).
Castro, E. L. & Brawn, M. (2017). Why we should be critical of critical pedagogy in prison classrooms: A conversation between an incarcerated student and non-incarcerated teacher. Harvard Educational Review, 87(1), 99-121.
Cedillo, C.V. What does it mean to move?: Race, disability, and critical embodiment pedagogy. Composition Forum 39, .n.p.
Darder, A. (1991). Culture and Power in the Classroom: A Critical Foundation for Bicultural Education. Praeger Press.
Davis, S.W. & Michaels, B. (2015). Ripping off some room for people to "breathe together”: Peer-to-peer education in prison, Social Justice, 42(2), (2015), 146-148.
Erzen, T., Gould M., & Lewen, J. (2019). Equity and excellence in practice: A guide for higher education in prison. Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. https://www.higheredinprison.org/publications/equity-and-excellence-in-practice-report
Ginsburg, R. (Ed.). (2019). Critical perspectives on teaching in prison: Students and instructors on pedagogy behind the wall. Routledge.
Horton, M., Kohl, H.R., and Kohl, J. (1990). The long haul: An autobiography. Teachers College Press.
Kilgore, J. (2011). Bringing Freire behind the walls: The perils and pluses of critical pedagogy in prison education. Radical Teacher, 50, 57-66.
Malakki, R.B. (2019). An open letter to prison educators. Critical perspectives on teaching in prison: Students and instructors on pedagogy behind the wall. Routledge.
Mayo, C. & Rodrigez, N. R. (Eds). (2019). Queer pedagogies: Theory, practice, politics. Springer Natural.
Miller, T.A. (2012). Encountering Attica: Documentary filmmaking as pedagogical tool. Journal of Legal Education, 62. 231-241.
Scott, R. (2013). Distinguishing radical teaching from merely having intense experiences while teaching in prison. Radical Teacher, 95, 22-32.
Shipka, J. (2011). Toward a Composition Made Whole. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Stovall, D. (2005). Critical Race Theory as educational protest: Power and praxis. Counterpoints, 237, 197-211.
Utheim, R. (2016). The case for higher education in prison: Working notes on pedagogy, purpose, and preserving democracy. Social Justice, 43(3), 91-134.
JHEP invites submissions that provide imaginative visions for postsecondary education inside prisons (including pathways to/from higher education in prison) and 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, teacher and volunteer training, theories of teaching and learning, policy, and practice from a variety of perspectives, frameworks, and positionalities, including: research-based, case study, systematic literature reviews or meta-analysis, creative works, and/or policy analysis. Authors should only submit one manuscript per volume, across all submission types and submissions must not have been previously published or currently under review with another publication outlet. In considering higher education in prison, we especially seek manuscripts authored and/or co-authored by: incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, directly impacted people, co-written essays among diverse stakeholders, and other collaborative configurations.
Volume Two of Journal of Higher Education in Prison invites a variety of submission formats, but all should be in response to the question: What are the possibilities and limitations of teaching and learning in prison spaces? Submissions not focused on this theme will not be considered for review and will be returned to the author and/or held for future consideration. Each submission format includes a specific set of guidelines. Please review this content carefully, as submissions not following the guidelines will be returned to author(s) for revisions. The submission guidelines are listed below. Additionally, a PDF version of the submission types and guidelines can be distributed to scholars who are currently incarcerated, including the process for handwritten and/or mailed submissions. Overview materials can also be sent directly to scholars who make this request by sending a letter to the JHEP mailing address (located at the end of the Call for Submissions).
A Letter to the Editor is a short form of communication that makes a comment on a previously published article or volume of the Journal of Higher Education in Prison. Additionally, we particularly welcome letters that highlight the need to steer the field in a specific direction. Click on the dropdown menu icon below to review the Letter to the Editor submission guidelines.
Letter to the Editor(s) submissions must follow these guidelines:
Word Count: 500 word maximum and not to exceed three (3) pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font, Times New Roman)
Cover Page, including the following:
A Contemporary Perspective Essay succinctly addresses the most pressing issues in the field. These essays should express one viewpoint on a matter surrounding and influencing higher education in prison as related to the focus of the volume for which it is being submitted. Click on the dropdown menu icon below to review the Contemporary Perspective Essay submission guidelines.
All Contemporary Perspective submissions must follow these guidelines:
Word Count: 1250 word maximum and not to exceed six (6) pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font, Times New Roman)
Formats: Essays should follow the most recent APA style manual. Written creative works (e.g., poetry, stories, short plays, creative nonfiction, etc.) are not required to follow the APA style manual, but should follow all other prescribed guidelines. Black and white photography and/or pen or ink sketches must be reproducible for a digital and print format (i.e., high resolution, at least 300 dpi, .jpg or .png only).
Cover Page, including the following:
Articles are conceptual, empirical, theoretical, historical and/or pedagogical manuscripts that approach the volume’s theme and the field of higher education in prison. Articles can be written from a variety of perspectives, frameworks, and positionalities. Approaches to articles can include: research-based, case study, systematic literature reviews or meta-analysis, and/or policy analysis. Click on the dropdown menu icon below to review the Article submission guidelines.
All Article submissions must follow these guidelines:
Page Count: 8,000 word maximum and not to exceed 30 pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font, Times New Roman, and including work cited, tables and charts and appendices)
Format: Essays should follow the most recent APA style manual
Cover Page, including the following (submitted as a stand-alone document and independent of the manuscript):
All submission types will be reviewed in a manner consistent with the journal’s mission. Letters to the Editor and Contemporary Perspective Essays will be reviewed by the Editorial Team and/or Editorial Board. Articles will engage in a peer-review process. Authors submitting Articles are able to choose either a “masked” or “unmasked” review process, the latter allows for an open-review where identities of both the author(s) and reviewers are known. Read a full overview of the Submission and Review Process.
JHEP is guided by the following values:
To have a submission considered for Volume Two, please review the submission guidelines and submit by March 1, 2022.
Please direct all submission related questions to: jhep@higheredinprison.org with the subject line “JHEP Submission”.
For authors with access to the Internet, all submissions must be submitted through the platform Scholastica: https://higheredinprison.scholasticahq.com/
JHEP encourages submissions from authors who are currently incarcerated. Authors without access to the Internet can either submit to Scholastica via a delegate (ensuring to also include the Delegate Appointment Form, found on the JHEP website) or via the mail and the submission will be uploaded to the Scholastica platform by a JHEP team member. To submit via the mail, follow these instructions. Please mail submissions to:
Journal of Higher Education in Prison
1801 N. Broadway, #417
Denver, CO 80202
To submit a manuscript through our online portal, click the submit button below. You will be provided specific instructions at each step of the submission process.
Both electronic and hardcopy submissions must follow the following Manuscript Preparation Guidelines (listed above). Submissions that do not meet the criteria will be returned.
Submitting an article indicates your agreement with our Ethics Practices.
All manuscripts must be written in English. If English is not your first language and you would like assistance in translating your manuscript into English, please contact the editors to discuss your options: jhep@higheredinprison.org
