Dr. Reuben Miller is the author of "Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration," this year's One Community, One Book selection. The One Community, One Book program, also known as OCOB, is an annual community-wide reading project coordinated by the UICHR. The project invites campus and community members to read the same human rights-related text and participate in activities including:
-
Thursday, October 7 - One Community, One Book Virtual Book Club: Part 1
-
Thursday, October 14 - One Community, One Book Virtual Book Club: Part 2
-
Thursday, October 21 - One Community, One Book Classroom Visit
-
Thursday, October 21 - One Community, One Book Author Keynote
-
Tuesday, October 26 - Webinar: Halfway Home in Johnson County
-
Thursday, October 28 - One Community, One Book Virtual Book Club: Part 3
Dr. Miller worked as a chaplain at the Cook County Jail in Chicago and is now a sociologist studying mass incarceration. He has spent years alongside prisoners, ex-prisoners, their friends and their families to understand the lifelong burden that even a single arrest can entail. What his work revealed is a simple truth: life after incarceration is its own form of prison.
Dr. Miller's book can be purchased from local vendors in Iowa City (Hawk Shop and Prairie Lights) as well as other vendors online. UICHR has a limited supply of books available for those who do not have the capacity to purchase their own copy. To request a book, please complete this form (https://bit.ly/OCOBbook2021) so we may follow up. Books will be available for pick up from a location on the UI campus.
Author Keynote
Join us for the Author Keynote Lecture with
Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller
Thursday, October 21 at 7:00PM (CST)
No Registration is required
Zoom ID: 963 1706 1361
Virtual Book Club
UICHR is hosting a 3 part virtual book club series moderated by Dr. Mary L. Cohen to explore the text deeper and make meaning along with others. The 3 parts of the book club correlate with the sections of the book; debt, wage, and salvation. The book club is open to all to participate and allows for flexibility, join us for one session or all, read the book fully or skim the section. We ask that you register in advance below!
Part 1: Debt
OCOB Book Club: Part 1 - DEBT
Thursday, October 7
4:00 - 5:00pm (CST) on Zoom
Register Here
Part 3: Salvation
OCOB Book Club: Part 3 - SALVATION
Thursday, October 28
4:00 - 5:00pm (CST) on Zoom
Register Here
Halfway Home in Johnson County
Webinar: Halfway Home in Johnson County
The week following the Author's Keynote, join us for a special panel moderated by Inside Out Reentry Community. The time will be spent in reflection with formerly incarcerated individuals about Dr. Miller's work and what Halfway Home in Johnson County means for us all.
As Jonathan Reuben Miller’s book “Halfway Home” points out, mass incarceration is designed to follow people home — from the effects of having lived in a dehumanizing environment to the continuing confines of life on parole; from legal discrimination in housing and job markets to widespread social stigma. And still, people prevail! People returning to Johnson County, IA, after incarceration will discuss some of the many challenges they face and what has helped them succeed.