The Incarceration of Women

Saturday, May 6, 2017, 4 - 5:30pm

Add to Calendar

Image
Gender & Power poster

Gender & Power poster

The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other nation in the world and the number of women in U.S. prisons has been increasing at a rate that is 50% higher than men since 1980. More than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18. What are the impact of these statistics on our communities and on women’s emotional, physical, and political selves? What can be done to steer awareness toward actions and strategies to counter the policies and laws that have created these realities? What opportunities and support can women access upon release? With Piper KermanChristine Pahigian, and Vivian Nixon. Moderated by Kate Landon.

This is a ticketed event ($10) and is part of the 2017 PEN World Voices Festival.

Co-presented with New York Women’s Foundation

Hosted by the Cooper Union Office of Continuing Education and Public Programs 

Located in the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, at 41 Cooper Square (on Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets)

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.