F78E Imprisoned Minds: Lost Boys, Trapped Men & Solutions from Within the Prison (Zoom; OLLI @ ASU)
Zoom | Available (Membership Required)
Imprisoned Minds tells the stories of men in prison—stories few people ever hear. Authors Erik Maloney and Kevin Wright, through personal narratives and expert analysis, reveal how unimaginable childhood trauma and neglect can set young men on a path toward prison or even death. Erik is currently incarcerated, serving a life sentence, and Kevin is a criminologist at Arizona State University. Together, their goal in writing this book is to humanize people behind bars, offer practical solutions, and show that a more effective approach to criminal justice is possible. Join them as they lead this class virtually—from prison—and explore the thought-provoking question: might there be an imprisoned mind in all of us?
[PRESENTERS] Dr. Kevin Wright is an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and is the director of the Center for Correctional Solutions at Arizona State University. His work focuses on enhancing the lives of people who live and work in prison through research, education, and community engagement. He has published over 40 articles, chapters and reports, and he is co-author of the book Imprisoned Minds: Lost Boys, Trapped Men, and Solutions from Within the Prison (Rutgers University Press, 2025), written alongside a man incarcerated for life. Wright was awarded the 2020 American Society of Criminology Teaching Award for creating transformational education opportunities. He received his 2010 PhD from Washington State University, where he was awarded 2022 Distinguished Alumni of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Erik Maloney has dedicated his life to advocating for a trauma-focused approach to rehabilitation in prisons and bringing attention to the harms of mass incarceration through his writing and work as a co-founder of the Arizona Transformation Project. Erik is the co-author of Imprisoned Minds: Lost Boys, Trapped Men, and Solutions from Within the Prison. He developed and teaches a class, based upon his book, which focuses on helping those who are incarcerated with him to overcome the irrational mindset (the Imprisoned Mind) that develops in response to childhood trauma.
- *This registration item is ZOOM ONLY; there is not an in-person section of this course. It is offered and run by The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Arizona State University.*