Kennesaw State University students are participating in a joint learning initiative with incarcerated individuals as part of the New Connections Project, according to a Mar. 30 announcement from the university.
The project aims to bridge the gap between traditional classroom education and real-world experiences by pairing KSU criminal justice and theatre students with learners at the Atlanta Transitional Center, a correctional facility for those nearing release. The program is designed to foster understanding of the criminal justice system beyond conventional perspectives.
Launched in 2019, the New Connections Project recently received support through a $900,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The funding was awarded to Common Good Atlanta, a nonprofit focused on higher education for people impacted by incarceration, and is shared among KSU’s project, West Georgia University, and the National Incarceration Association.
Tanja Link, co-director of the project and professor of sociology and criminal justice at KSU’s Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said one goal is for students to gain deeper insights into crime and punishment. “We’re learning together,” Link said. “Everybody is vulnerable and everybody is there to discover something they didn’t know before. Students realize, ‘I could be on the other side if my parents didn’t have money or if my education was different.’ And those light bulbs go off because of empathy – something you cannot learn solely in the regular classroom.”
Participants take part in courses such as critical thinking and writing, literature, American history, art history, and philosophy through Bard College’s Clemente Course in the Humanities. Classes are taught by college professors including some from KSU. This semester’s experience is led by Margaret Pendergrass, co-director of the project and senior lecturer at KSU’s Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts.
Students respond critically and creatively to works ranging from Homer’s “The Odyssey” to Percival Everett’s “James.” The course will conclude with a collaborative staged reading from Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Pendergrass said: “The theatrical space can be a real confidence builder for all our students… Theatre students learn to apply their skills into non-traditional performance spaces. And Common Good Atlanta students…theatre and performance give them a welcoming and supportive space in which to be seen and heard.” She added: “We’ve found that bringing our Kennesaw students in to work with incarcerated students becomes a wonderful way to enhance the learning for everyone.”
Before joining classes inside prison facilities, KSU participants study topics like incarceration ethics then complete an approval process through Georgia Department of Corrections.
Pendergrass noted that theatre classes help formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild trust: “It’s not a place known for teamwork…so learning to trust others again is hard. But it’s something that we’ve seen again and again in these classes.”
Link concluded: “We want our students to step into their careers able to interact without bias…And for our incarcerated learners…to build communication and critical thinking skills that make sustainable reentry possible.”
