Forgotten No More: Long Lane¿s Incarcerated Children, 1867-2003
AFAM 319
Spring 2027
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01
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Today, Long Lane is associated with Wesleyan¿s student-run organic farm. But, for over a century, a carceral institution for young women operated just across the street, giving previous generations of Middletown residents a very different association with Long Lane. Long Lane School (founded in 1867 as the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls) sought to ¿reform¿ girls deemed ¿neglected, vagrant, or viciously inclined.¿ Grounded in overlapping systems of racism, sexism, and the criminalization of poverty, ¿protection¿ and ¿reform¿ blurred into coercion and confinement, especially as the institution became increasingly carceral during the 20th century. In this course, students will conduct original archival and oral history research to help reconstruct the history of Long Lane School, centering the perspectives of the generations of young women confined there. Our starting point will be the former Long Lane School¿s nearly forgotten cemetery, where at least 27 young women were buried between 1878 and 1916. In the process, you will learn about the 19th- and early-20th-century ideas and practices surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and carcerality that shaped Long Lane School. This course is being conducted in partnership with the Forgotten Children Initiative, housed at The Center for Youth Justice (CYJ) within Georgetown University¿s McCourt School of Public Policy, which investigates, identifies, and honors incarcerated youth buried in lost or abandoned burial grounds across the United States. The course will give students the unique opportunity to contribute to this national research project, ensuring that the incarcerated youth within Middletown¿s history receive the commemoration, recognition, and dignity that the carceral state denied them. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AFAM |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (African American Studies Minor)(African American Studies) |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
All required readings will be available electronically on Moodle
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Examinations and Assignments:
Final project, several short journal/reflection assignments, and an oral presentation for community members.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Nasta,Jesse Times: .M..... 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 0 | FR: 0 |
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