Great Books Foundation Supports Prison Literacy Project

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to a partnership between
the Tennessee Department of Correction, Middle Tennessee State University, and
the Great Books Foundation based in Chicago, prisoners at three Tennessee
prisons began regular discussions of great books in late March of this year.
The program, titled Great Books in Middle Tennessee Prisons, is currently
under way at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the Lois M. DeBerry
Special Needs Facility, and the Tennessee Prison for Women.
The program began in January of this year, when Dr. Daniel Born of the
Great Books Foundation visited the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and
the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility. Sharmila Patel, the head of the
education department for the Tennessee Department of Correction, took Born on
a tour of the prisons and described the need for such programs as Great Books
in Middle Tennessee prisons. "The reading and discussion of great books
expands our educational opportunities for incarcerated men and women. It
enlarges minds, and it also creates a sense of community," says Patel.
With a grant funded by the Middle Tennessee State University Public
Service Committee and the College of Liberal Arts, the program was born. Dr.
Philip Edward Phillips, associate professor of English at MTSU, wrote the
grant and Born returned to conduct a workshop in Shared Inquiry(TM),
discussion training for the faculty volunteers at MTSU in preparation for the
program's March kickoff. Since then, Phillips and five of his colleagues in
the English Department have been leading regular discussions of great books in
the prisons. Discussion groups range in size from ten to fifteen students,
many of whom participate actively in the discussions. "My colleagues and I are
very much impressed with the dedication and interest demonstrated by our
students," says Phillips. "We look forward to returning each week."
Born is pleased with the results so far. "This program provides motivated
prisoners with the kind of intellectual stimulation that is sorely lacking in
many of the nation's prisons," Born says. "The program goes forward because of
Sharmila Patel's enthusiasm and vision and the support of prison wardens like
Ricky Bell at Riverbend and Roland Colson at DeBerry, not to mention Dr.
Phillips and the dedicated volunteers including librarians, lawyers,
professors, and laypeople." Born points to other successful Great Books
programs in prisons as setting an important precedent for the Tennessee
initiative. Currently other prison programs that use Great Books Foundation
anthologies and Shared Inquiry discussion can be found in Woodville and
Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the CCA (Corrections Corporation of America)-
Metro facility in Nashville.
For more than 60 years, the Great Books Foundation has been at the helm of
a movement to advance the reading and discussion of great literature in
communities, schools, and homes. The foundation publishes stimulating
anthologies and related materials, supports the efforts of local book clubs,
and promotes a style of discussion that encourages civil discourse.
For more information about the great books discussions at Riverbend
Maximum Security Institution, the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility, and
the Tennessee Prison for Women, contact Daniel Born at 800-222-5870, ext. 282.
Contact:
Daniel Born, Vice President for Post-Secondary Programs
The Great Books Foundation
35 East Wacker Dr., Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60601-2205
Ph: 800-222-5870, ext. 282
E-mail: Daniel.born@greatbooks.org
http://www.greatbooks.org

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SOURCE The Great Books Foundation

Daniel Born, Vice President for Post-Secondary Programs of The Great Books
Foundation, +1-800-222-5870, ext. 282, Daniel.born@greatbooks.org