2023-09-13 Teaching Maat in Prison (R. Lucarelli)

This paper will discuss how teaching about ancient Egypt in a carceral environment proves to be highly effective in engaging incarcerated students in the study and understanding of ancient cultures, providing an educational tool to inspire and challenge their own ideas about the ancient past and the world of the Pharaohs. Patterns of reception and interpretation of textual and iconographical sources related to ancient Egyptian history, art and religion will be illustrated, based on the experience and data gained while teaching at San Quentin State Prison in California for the Mount Tamalpais College (formerly known as Prison University Project). Issues of pedagogy and strategies for learning according to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion in prison education will be discussed as well, with a focus on the central role that religion plays in prison environments and how the ancient Egyptian religion and the concept of Maat (“what is right”) have been received, discussed and interpreted by the students of San Quentin State Prison.