Duke Divinity School Students and Incarcerated Students Learn Alongside Each Other
This is a summary of a story by Frith Gowan on Duke Divinity School.
Official response and confirmed impact
A Duke Divinity School initiative brings Duke students and incarcerated students together to take graduate-level theology courses in a prison alongside each other, learning across race, class and carceral divisions.
The initiative is called Project TURN, which stands for Transform, Unlock, ReNew.
Each class includes around 10 residents from the hosting prison, North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, and 10 students from Duke Divinity School.
Janely Cardenas, an incarcerated student participating in the program, described how the classes have impacted her.
“They have given me more confidence in who I am as a child of God, as a human of worth, of dignity,” said Cardenas.
“That just because of my circumstances, that doesn’t define who I am as a human being, as a mom, as a woman, and that God can give us a purpose no matter where we’re at.”
Incident background
The courses are taught by Divinity School faculty and include Christian theology, ethics, biblical studies, Christian history, pastoral care, and Christian discipleship.
