This semester students of #TBW2015cj participated in weekly tasks, one of which we refer to as the Social Media Summary (SMS) which focused on student/instructor Twitter activities. September's assignment required students find and follow the Prison Public Memory Project twitter page. Students reviewed Prison Public Memory Project website and social media, identified a resource about the project, and shared with other #TBW2015cj students in the online Discussion board. Below are a few notes from the students:
"What I found out about the Prison Public Memory Project is that they are huge on history. They had this SoundCloud audio on Sylvia Honig, who was a former social worker in the 1960s and the 1970s. Sylvia worked in three New York juvenile prisons. Tony, the one who called all the shots, tells her that she was more of a father figure and how they saw authority in her. Therefore, the 25 girls of the program felt safe with her. It gave me the impression of a very well respected strong woman raised by her strict father. She wasn’t so sensitive as the other house moms when it came to talking about her feelings. Surprisingly, she felt that it was inappropriate to talk about feelings and issues amongst each other. Tony called a meeting talking about a program and how he wanted to leave footprints, which has now made history." #TBW2015cj Student
"What I have learned about the Prison Public Memory Project is that they are trying to use various forms of media, art, and history to honor the memories of many different types of people and communities that were involved in some way with a prison type facility that has been shut down. They believe that the memories that are housed in these facilities deserve to be known, even if they are no longer operating. Each individual that was a part of these facilities have a voice, whether they were staff or someone that was incarcerated. They seem to really want to educate the public on the histories of these facilities. They have started their pilot project in Hudson NY, their website has many interesting photographs that are pieces of art in the way they are displayed. There are also many stories from people interviewed on their site as well." #TBW2015cj Student
"What I found out about the Prison Public Memory Project is that they want to preserve the history of what took place in these prisons that are closing. Their focus is on using particular resources such as media technologies and history to help show people what the role of a prison play in both communities and society. They started in Hudson, New York because of its historic significance and the role that the prison there has played since the 1800s regarding the topics of penal reform, child welfare, juvenile justice, the role of race, gender, income, and immigrant status and how these factors come to play in crime and punishment." #TBW2015cj Student
