* Not his real name.
James is among 120 Polk Correctional Institution offenders, ages 18 and older, who have enrolled during the past three years in either for-credit or noncredit courses in which philosophy faculty, graduate students and undergraduates correspond or teach. His behavior in prison caused his transfer to the Butner, North Carolina, facility’s most secure unit. Now, philosophy offers James a chance for reflection to counteract his limited social contact.
Fulfilling the University’s public service mission
Prison-outreach is just one program in a historically robust array offered by the College of Arts & Sciences’ philosophy department. Carolina philosophers also hold discussion groups in retirement communities, engage high school students in nearby counties and involve UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate and graduate students in the outreach. It’s all part of the department’s efforts to fulfill the University’s mission of public service.