ABSTRACT
In this teaching note, we propose a unique way to incorporate service-learning
into criminologyand deviance classes. We present service-learning as an effective
way to help students understand crime and deviance sociologically, and as a less
ethically problematic method thansome proposed alternatives. The article details
a two week-long project that involved bringing our students to a juvenile prison
where each was paired with a resident who was roughly the same age as the student.
The partners worked on creating and decorating plaster masks of their faces. Juvenile
prisoners are among the most neglected and stigmatized groups in society. By bringing
our students into the prison, we provide the residents with a healthy outlet,
a larger perspective, and a sense that they have not been forgotten. In addition,
the juvenile prisoners,along with the students, learn that they are not significantly
different from one another. The bond this understanding creates encourages them
to share their separate life experiences. Both groupsare enriched as a result.
The mask-making project provides its own unique benefits to the service-learning
experience, including the rich symbolism of “giving a face to the faceless.”
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