722 Civil Society, Participation and Citizenship Responsibility: An Inside/Out Course

Class | Registration opens 8/10/2026 11:00 AM

1 Kelley Drive Coal Township, PA 17866 United States
SCI Coal Twp classroom
Tuesday, September 29, 2026-Tuesday, November 17, 2026
1:00 PM-3:30 PM on Tue
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$60.00

722 Civil Society, Participation and Citizenship Responsibility: An Inside/Out Course

Class | Registration opens 8/10/2026 11:00 AM

The topics for these Inside/Out classes were proposed by the “inside” class members at SCI Coal Township. Inside class members are engaged in a significant fundraising and charity gifting program created and run by the incarcerated people. Since 2020, prisoner charities at SCI Coal Township have raised and given away more than $300,000, much of it directed at local organizations in Central Pennsylvania. “Giving back” and seeking redemption for their destructive actions is one motivation for their charity. But inside representatives have argued that charity and participation in the surrounding community is their responsibility as citizens. While they are being punished, accepting lawful punishment is a responsibility of citizenship. Engaging in positive acts of citizenship is the other side of incarceration.

Currently there is a debate about the fate of democracy in America. Civic engagement and participation are basic aspects of pluralism and political participation in this country. While “preserving democracy” has been injected into current partisan politics, this course will not be partisan or political. Reading materials will present the theories of civil society and the connection between participation and democratic governance. Participants will consider contemporary challenges to the participatory approach to politics—to the participatory approach to understanding democracy.

Inside men would like to explore vitality and disillusionment in American communities both at the societal level and at the local level. They would like to have this conversation with members of the BILL community. They will help build a list of interesting and provocative readings for the course. As in the past, they also will play a leadership role in making class discussions dynamic and exciting.

Class discussions will move among several linked topics. These include concern for how mobilization can happen in local communities, the way neighborhood governance is connected to municipal and state governance, ways in which elected officials are and may be held accountable, how civic responsibility by citizens is related to formal government responsibilities, how social media relates to social mobilization and civic responsibility, and the decline of trust in government.

These topics are matters of active discussion both inside and outside of prisons. They have practical meaning for inside members because they want to use their considerable fundraising resources to foster mobilization and accountability in local communities.

  • Special security details will be provided to all enrolled in this course. Clearance paperwork will be required before the first meeting. Students must have email access for urgent messaging. The instructor will be in contact with everyone registered to explain more details about the schedule, background checks, and other specific details for participation.

    The actual class meetings will start at 1 p.m. and end at 3:30. However, in the past most participants have chosen to meet in Lewisburg at the BILL office to travel together to the prison; it is a 45-minute drive. If you will be carpooling with the group, plan to commit to a noon-4:20 p.m. schedule for this course.

Carl Milofsky

CARL MILOFSKY is professor emeritus of sociology at Bucknell. His research has focused on human service organizations, the sociology of medicine, and the sociology of communities. He began teaching Inside/Out classes with Bucknell students in 2016 and continued until his retirement. He began teaching Inside/Out classes with BILL in 2022. He is co-author, editor, or co-editor of a number of journal articles and academic handbooks and authored Smallville: Institutionalizing Community in Twenty-first Century America, a book about community nonprofit organizations in Central Pennsylvania.

Sandra Elion

SANDY ELION has a master’s degree in education from the University of Iowa and received her bachelor’s in child development from Connecticut College. She taught at the private West Branch School in Williamsport for 34 of her 37 teaching years, where she also served as a curriculum designer and developer, co-school director, and board member. For 25 years she was an assistant varsity swim coach at Bucknell University. Wife of Carl Milofsky, Sandy was drawn into the SCI Coal Township Inside/Out discussion group and has served as co-leader since Spring of 2022.

Sid Furst

SID FURST is the manager of the Salvation Army-Williamsport Community Garden and Urban Farm, which he developed after completing the Pennsylvania State University’s Master Gardener program. The volunteer-run garden/farm has been operating since 2014 and covers 40,000 square feet in Williamsport on ground in the 700-800 block area of Park Avenue.