From the Archive: The Hurt of the Past, the Wounds of the Present
The Hurt of the Past, the Wounds of the Present
Greek Drama, Incarceration, and Humanity’s Dialogue
The Hurt of the Past, the Wounds of the Present is a collaboration between Rutgers associate professor Emily Allen-Hornblower (School of Arts and Science, Classics, Rutgers–New Brunswick) and her partners: mainly, Nafeesah Goldsmith, Edward Kates, and Marquis McCray, survivors of the New Jersey carceral system and passionate criminal and social justice advocates. The project engages the public in community conversations about the power of ancient Greek tragedy to elucidate mass incarceration by focusing on the resonance of ancient plays and their themes for (currently and formerly) incarcerated men and women. Together, this team of collaborators hoists the power of storytelling (ancient and modern) to spark meaningful exchanges about what it means to be human and the dehumanization of prisons, putting the shared humanity of all front and center.
Read the feature article, "A Rutgers Professor Teaches Classics and Inspires Convicts," written by John Chadwick | Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences Senior Writer here.
Rediscovering Our Humanity: Reading the Classics Behind Bars (The Philadelphia Ethical Society, 2021)
Emily Allen-Hornblower moderates a public conversation with mass incarceration survivors Nafeesah Goldsmith and Marquis McCray. The program includes excerpts from Greek tragedies to ground the discussion about the role of the emotions in our lives, and the Humanity we all share. The ancient works serve as an opening for dialogue regarding the life of the incarcerated before, during, and after prison, and the interconnectedness between all of us that storytelling and classical literature can bring to light.
