The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program brings DePaul students (“outside students”) and incarcerated students (“inside students”) together as peers in a quarter-long, discussion-based course held inside the Cook County Jail. Rooted in social justice, transformative education, and community partnership, the program creates a rare space for shared learning, critical dialogue, and human connection across profound boundaries.
Led by DePaul faculty and supported by trained teaching assistants, Inside-Out courses explore themes such as masculinity, justice, law, violence, identity, and systems of power. Students engage in collaborative assignments, circles, and project-based learning designed to challenge assumptions, deepen empathy, and examine structural inequities through multiple lived experiences.
Inside-Out at DePaul is grounded in the university’s Vincentian mission and commitment to dignity, community engagement, and liberation-centered education. The program strengthens relationships between DePaul and Chicago’s correctional institutions while offering all participants opportunities for reflection, academic rigor, and personal growth.
“Honoring our CSL 311:Masculinity, Justice & Law students (Spring of 2025) with an Inside-Out graduation ceremony, celebrating the connections and insights built across the quarter.”
“Dancing Through Barriers — a final Inside-Out project made by inside and outside students, designed to uplift community-based solutions through shared stories and movement.”
Contact schris37@depaul.edu if interested in taking CSS 311 (Masculinity, Justice, and Law) with the Director, John Zeigler, as the professor.