About Us

cropped-photo-2-1rzjzhb-e1476504307874.jpgThis Humanities Institute Working Group intends to explore the broad theme of “confinement.” We hope to engage the rich interdisciplinary scholarship in critical prison studies, but we emphasize expanding beyond the prison as a major form of punishment, with a view to deepening our humanistic understanding of all forms of voluntary and involuntary confinement, such as asylum, monastery, segregation and seclusion, captivity, and so on. We seek to facilitate new conversations about the notion and practice of confinement and explore new ways in which confinement as an analytical lens could help formulate radical rethinking of many important topics in philosophy, politics, and society.

We hold regular reading discussions and workshops (please look up “Events” for our activities), and look for ways to engage wider academic and non-academic audiences. We welcome participation, suggestions, and proposals from faculty and students across disciplines.

Coordinators: Melissa Curley (Comparative Studies, curley.32@osu.edu); Ying Zhang (History, zhang.1889@osu.edu); Joey Kim (English, kim.4227@buckeyemail.osu.edu)