CMU Prison Education Project
Fall 2026 CMU PEP Courses
Update for Fall 2026 CMU PEP Classes
Both courses fill the Dietrich GenEd requirement for Experiential Learning and are worth 12 rather than 9 units. An application for admission to the courses is required. They will be taught as part of the CMU Prison Education project and will take place inside Somerset State Correctional Institution. CMU students will learn alongside incarcerated students. Students leave on Fridays together on the bus at 12:30 p.m. and return at 6:45 p.m. Questions? Reach out to CMU PEP Director, Wendy Goldman.
Fall 2026
76-236/736: The American Story - Our World and Other Worlds
Professor: Jeffrey Williams
Units: 12
GenEd Requirement: Experiential Learning
This course surveys classics of American fiction, such as Washington Irving鈥檚 tale of colonial America, 鈥淩ip van Winkle,鈥� and William Faulkner鈥檚 As I Lay Dying, up to contemporary fiction such as Octavia Butler鈥檚 Kindred and Emily St. John Mandel鈥檚 Station Eleven. Fiction imagines other worlds, but what does fiction tell us about our world? And what does it tell us about alternatives? The course will be discussion-based and take place at Somerset Prison, so we鈥檒l also talk about the world inside and the world outside.
Fall 2026
79-239: Theories of Nationalism: Race, Identity and Power
Professor: Aidan Beatty
Units: 12
GenEd Requirement: Experiential Learning
Nationalism is one of, if not the dominant, ideologies of modernity. But where did it come from and why has it been so successful? Our class traces the history of nationalism from the early modern Atlantic world, through Europe and the Middle East and back to North America, examining how and why nationalism merges, in different times and places, with class, race, religion and gender. As we will explore, nationalism can be a progressive force for positive change or a reactionary and exclusionary ideology. In this class, we will take nationalism apart and see what it鈥檚 made of; we will examine some of the leading theories of nationalism and survey a variety of nationalist movements across different times and places, from Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, to Irish republicanism, the Armenian Diaspora and contemporary white nationalism.
好色先生TV's Prison Education Project (CMU PEP) is committed to bringing education into prison, offering new opportunities to inmates and CMU students, and building dialogue across class, racial and social lines.
Prisons play a key role in the U.S. economy and in the U.S. surpass those of any country in the world. We need to learn more about our prison system: what its origins are, whose interests it serves, and how it compares with systems of incarceration in other countries.
Based on the philosophy of听, a nationwide prison education program, CMU PEP offers several courses each academic year within nearby prisons. Faculty and CMU students travel together by bus to and from the prison once a week. Each course, which combines CMU students and inmates, provides full credit to CMU and incarcerated students and follows a regular CMU curriculum. CMU students should register for PEP courses through normal channels and will be asked to fill out听a short questionnaire, which professors will review to determine eligibility.听
CMU PEP Courses
All CMU PEP courses take place at Somerset State Correctional Institution. CMU students learn alongside students who are incarcerated. All students receive full credit for the courses. CMU PEP courses fill the Dietrich GenEd requirement for Experiential Learning and are worth 12 rather than 9 units. An application for admission to the courses is required.听
Fall 2026
76-236/736: The American Story - Our World and Other Worlds
Professor: Jeffrey Williams
This course surveys classics of American fiction, such as Washington Irving鈥檚 tale of colonial America, 鈥淩ip van Winkle,鈥� and William Faulkner鈥檚 As I Lay Dying, up to contemporary fiction such as Octavia Butler鈥檚 Kindred and Emily St. John Mandel鈥檚 Station Eleven. Fiction imagines other worlds, but what does fiction tell us about our world? And what does it tell us about alternatives? The course will be discussion-based and take place at Somerset Prison, so we鈥檒l also talk about the world inside and the world outside.
79-239: Theories of Nationalism: Race, Identity and Power
Professor: Aidan Beatty
Nationalism is one of, if not the dominant, ideologies of modernity. But where did it come from and why has it been so successful? Our class traces the history of nationalism from the early modern Atlantic world, through Europe and the Middle East and back to North America, examining how and why nationalism merges, in different times and places, with class, race, religion and gender. As we will explore, nationalism can be a progressive force for positive change or a reactionary and exclusionary ideology. In this class, we will take nationalism apart and see what it鈥檚 made of; we will examine some of the leading theories of nationalism and survey a variety of nationalist movements across different times and places, from Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, to Irish republicanism, the Armenian Diaspora and contemporary white nationalism.
Spring 2026
79-252: A Global History of Crime and Punishment
Professor Wendy Goldman
This course covers the history of crime and punishment, beginning in the Middle Ages and ending in the present. We will examine numerous cases, from justice as practiced in African villages to the workhouses created by the British Poor Laws to the Gulag labor camp system in the Soviet Union to the rise of the penitentiary in Europe and the United States. We will read about crime and punishment in the United States, looking at various models from the work gang to solitary confinement. We end by examining the era of mass incarceration to understand how it became a solution to larger problems in American society.听
Fall 2025
76-251: Exploring Creative Writing in Community
Professor Jane McCafferty
This course exposes students to nonfiction, fiction and poetry, with the aim of teaching students the craft of writing about their own lived experience. Everyone will read books, stories, essays and poems together. Students will create their own writings that they will share with one another in our writing workshop, based on prompts from the professor. The course does not require extensive writing experience, just a strong desire to read and write and tell stories. We鈥檒l consider how the way we craft stories about our lives can end up changing the way we see ourselves, each other, and the world. Class will be run as a discussion, where all are invited to participate. Emphasis will be on deep listening and developing community connection, as everyone learns more about the craft of writing.
76-245: Shakespeare - Tragedies and Histories
Professor: Stephen Wittek听
In the closing decades of the sixteenth century, enterprising cultural producers in early modern London began to develop a new commercial venture called 鈥榩laying鈥�: a business that offered ordinary people a few hours of dramatic entertainment for the price of one penny. More than four hundred years later, the drama of the period now ranks among the most esteemed texts in all English literature, and the name 鈥楽hakespeare鈥� has become a byword for literary genius. This course will offer an overview of Shakespeare鈥檚 tragedies and histories, exploring what these plays meant in their original context. This course meets a GenEd requirement.
Spring 2025听
- 79-266: Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism with Professor W. Goldman
- 76-236: The American Novel - Our Worlds and Other Worlds with Professor J. Williams听
Fall 2024听
- 76-245: Shakespeare: Tragedies and Histories, Professor S. Wittek
- 85-201: Psychology and Society, Professor K. Manke-Miller
Spring 2024听
- 76-251: Creative Writing in Community, Professor J. McCafferty
- 79-257: Germany and the Second World War, Professor D. Harsch听
Fall 2023听
- 76-236: Major Fiction Then and Now: Imagining the World, Professor J. Williams
Spring 2023听
- 79-265: Russian History: Game of Thrones, Professor W. Goldman
- 85-201: Psychology and Society, Professor K. Manke-Miller
CMU PEP Speaker Series
CMU PEP hosts speakers to discuss larger social issues related to incarceration.
Norman Conti: Are There Some Histories That are Off Limits?听
Performing History with Incarcerated Students, Returning Citizens, Police Officers and More
Doing Transnational Justice: Lessons from Incarceration Nations Network
Prison Book Bannings: The Fight Against Censorship
Student Experiences
"Being a part of CMU PEP was one of the most unique and rewarding experiences I鈥檝e had in college. This experience both challenged my naive assumptions surrounding people who are incarcerated and also helped shape how I think about psychology and education in general."听
鈥� Amor, Junior, Triple Major in Statistics, Psychology and Decision Science
"I cannot begin to express how much this course was appreciated. I always looked forward to Fridays, not only because I was getting off the housing unit and going to school, but mainly because the professor and the CMU students treated me and the other inmates like real people."
鈥� Brandon, SCI Somerset
"This program gave me an amazing opportunity to expose myself to people with different life experiences than mine. It's not every day you get the chance to communicate across difference in this way, especially in a setting where the goal is to learn with each other. It's been an inclusive and inspiring learning experience that I'm grateful was a part of my time at 好色先生TV.
鈥� Camille, Junior, Double Major, Psychology and Decision Science
"CM PEP offered an enclave of humanity and higher education within an environment that is often bereft of both. I was challenged by new perspectives, gained useful knowledge of a fascinating topic and developed an interest in further learning. The concepts and ideas sparked by the lectures, readings, discussions and in-class interactions will continue to motivate me toward positive action and success."
鈥� Jacob, SCI Somerset
"The CMU Prison Education Project was one of the most influential experiences I have ever had. I have never been in class with more engaging, perceptive and dedicated students, and this program entirely changed my relationship with education and learning. CMU PEP is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I could not recommend this course more."
鈥� Rowan, Junior, School of Drama
"Through the CMU Prison Education Project, I have been able to explore different perspectives that I wouldn't have otherwise found on campus. I've really enjoyed being able to listen and to have deep conversations with people whose life experiences are vastly different from my own."
鈥� Jennifer, Senior, Major, Computer Science
"Being part of CMU PEP in my last semester of college is a memory that will stay with me. It's such a unique opportunity for college students, and it has heavily changed my perception of prisons and prison systems. The inside students I spent time with were some of the most passionate students I've ever met, and I loved that we could learn so much from each other just by being in each other's presence."听
鈥� Catherine, Senior, Major, Design
The experience of watching equal numbers of CMU and Somerset Prison students get certificates for completing the PEP courses was deeply gratifying. The CMU students were transformed and said so. The incarcerated students were profoundly grateful and said so. The professors were profoundly energized and said so. I've been in higher education for 35 years, and I've never seen anything like it.
Richard Scheines
Bess Family Dean, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Thank You Cards
Art courtesy of SCI Somerset students
Outside of thank-you card for the spring 2023, "Russian History: Game of Thrones" with Prof. Wendy Goldman
Inside of "Russian History" thank-you card.
Thank-you card for the spring 2023, "Psychology, Society and the Human Brain" with Prof. Kody Manke-Miller
Thank-you card for fall 2023, "Major Fiction: Then and Now" with Prof. Jeffrey Williams (illustration features clues about the novel's plots).
The CMU Prison Education Project is funded through the generous support of the dean in Dietrich College, participating academic departments, and the educational labor of participating faculty.