There are many and varied ways to study the issues raised by the book and the play DEAD MAN WALKING. Below are just a few examples taken from some of the 65 campuses that have presented the play. Send us your study stories.
A really great example of the ways a campus can "Dig into
the Issue" is described here from M. Sheileen Corbett, Assistant Professor,
Dept of Theatre, King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania:
"Our dates for Dead Man Walking are February 13, 14, 15 & 16, 2008.
Sister Helen is also scheduled to speak here on February 12th.
Already we have an on-campus initiative in full swing as all of our first
year students were required to read the book and have been discussing the
issue(s) in their first year seminar course. Additionally, we have a series
of "Brown Bag Lectures" from different disciplines (history, philosophy,
mass communications, to name a few) which are taking place throughout the
academic year. See schedule
of activities.
At the same time, our Mass Communications department is working on a documentary
production evidencing all of our efforts so we can provide you with that as
well."
Field trips are a good reflection of "digging into the issue".
Several schools have explored the realities of our criminal justice system
through field trips to prisons. The DEAD MAN WALKING cast of Quinnipiac
University in Hamden, CT spent their spring break in Louisiana
including a day-long tour of Angola Prison where they had lunch in the death
row unit and then visited the "death house" in which they went into
the actual chamber where the lethal injection is administered. (See the article
in the Quinnipiac Magazine, Summer 2006.)
The guard who accompanied them into this room commented to a colleague later
that this was a very unusual tour group. Why, there were some students
who actually had tears in their eyes when they entered the room. I've never
observed such a reaction from other groups. Who are these students?
The cast from Western Michigan University
decided that a visit to their state's oldest prison in Jackson was important.
Through meeting some of the inmates and experiencing the inside of the prison
they gained a better sense of the human experience of imprisonment. As a result
of this visit, a few weeks later the prison administration invited the cast
back to the prison to present the play, second act, to 200 selected inmates.
The experience was memorable for all ---cast , inmates, and administration.
“They were the best audience we ever had !” commented one of the
cast members.
Book clubs are a popular means of "digging into the issue." These clubs are reading Sister Helen's first book, DEAD MAN WALKING, or are delving into her new book, THE DEATH OF INNOCENTS, which provides both powerful human stories as well as an analysis of the justice/court systems. Adams State College in Alamosa, CO is a stand-out example of this trend with at least 21 known book clubs representing over 800 readers. The smallest of these clubs is six men who golf together.
The University of Mary in Bismark,
ND organized their monthly all campus convocations as an extension
of their commitment to study the death penalty from many perspectives:
• examining the North Dakota Constitution on the death penalty
• hearing from a victims rights advocate
• and ultimately meeting and hearing Sister Helen Prejean speak at their
convocation in February 2006.
St Joseph’s College, Patchogue,
NY
The College of Mount St Joseph is a stellar example of expanding the discourse
on the death penalty to a wide array of academic departments and campus organizations.
Some of the departments active in studying the issue were the English, Psychology,
Social Science, Speech and Communication, Religious Studies, and the Art Department.
Professors in many departments agreed to assign the book, DEAD MAN WALKING,
as required reading for their classes. Student clubs actively engaged in the
project were the Art Club, Freshman Humanities Committee, Social Science Club,
and Student Government Services and Officers. Various campus institutes were
also involved in the DEAD MAN WALKING Play Project such as the Institute for
Civic Engagement, Institute for the Study of Religion in Community Life, plus
the Campus Ministries office as well as the offices of the President and Campus
Administration. This broad sweeping alliance provided a powerful model of
cooperation around a major social issue of our country.
Jesuit High School, Portland, Oregon
Planners of the DEAD MAN WALKING Play Project at Jesuit High School in Portland
"pledge to do everything we could to make our production the center of
something much greater." They invited the faculty to join them "in
linking this story, your curriculum, and this year's school-theme, in an exploration
of the ways we can all be committed to doing justice." They
provided ideas about ways the production of DEAD MAN WALKING could intersect
with the curricula. You may find this document
from Jesuit High School helpful for your own planning.
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Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project.
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