Midterm Module & Assignment
Imagine that you live and work in a small American city. A developer has proposed the construction of a prison just inside the city boundary, and because of the resulting zoning changes, a pubic hearing will be held this week for community members.
Stakeholders will gather to present public comment and connect with the community in an attempt to influence decision-makers on whether zoning should or shouldn’t be approved for the development of the prison.
You will choose one stakeholder perspective to represent:
An employee at a local racial justice nonprofit
A prison abolition activist
A local law enforcement officer
An employee with the property developer
An unemployed citizen
A social worker at a nearby parole office
You will inhabit the “role” of the stakeholder of your choice, and produce 2 documents:
An Advocacy Memo: A brief, but well-researched, 1-page flyer that can be distributed to community members at the public hearing. It should be a graphically-compelling handout (with text, images, and relevant references), and written from one of the perspectives listed above. It must:
Implore community members to either support or reject the development of the prison
Represent the perspective of your chosen stakeholder group
Cite at least 4 peer-reviewed journal articles relating to the social, political, or economic impact of prisons on American communities, and
Inspire citizens with a clear, visually-compelling, easy to follow message
A One Paragraph Script: A brief script of the statement you intend to make to the city council during the public meeting which answers the following question: Do prisons improve or degrade communities? The script should cite at least 2 peer-reviewed journal articles (they may be the same or different from those cited in your memo)
You will submit these documents to canvas, and next week your peers will view your handouts and you will journal on each other’s advocacy materials.
