Selected Writings by Communication Studies Majors at California State Prison

In the fall of 2016, the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, USA, began offering classes inside a maximum-security prison facility to offer incarcerated persons the opportunity to achieve a bachelor’s degree in Communication.

Students on the course produced assignments and essays in response to Pause and Reflect prompts from Interpersonal Communication: Putting Theory into Practice, and in spring 2017, a selection of these writings were published in Colloquy: A Journal of the Department of Communication Studies, California State University, Los Angeles. In the time since, the program created The Prison BA Journal to share the students’ work with others.

In addition, collaboration between the Lancaster State Prison’s Communication Studies students and students in Cal State LA’s Animation Option brought to life student essays through animation and narration.

Dr. Kamran Afary, faculty advisor to the program and Assistant Professor of Social Justice Communication, describes the impact of learning about interpersonal communication on his students: “I have seen its life transforming effect on my students in their interpersonal relationships with each other and in repairing relationships with their families.” Through the generosity of the program, we can share their work with all students learning from this textbook.

We hope you will take the time to learn about interpersonal communication through the words of these students, by checking out The Prison BA Journalandthe animated essays.