''College Behind Bars'' is a 2019 American

television documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

, directed by

Lynn Novick Lynn Novick is an American director and producer of documentary films, widely known for her work with Ken Burns. Early life Novick was born in 1962, raised in New York City, and graduated from Horace Mann School in 1979. She graduated magna cum l ...

, which originally aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. It focuses on the lives and academic careers of inmates in the

Bard Prison Initiative The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) is a program of Bard College that provides college education to people in prison. Currently operating in six prisons across New York State, BPI's academic programs engage students in the full breadth of liberal stud ...

Synopsis

Incarcerated individuals at

Eastern Correctional Facility The Eastern Correctional Facility is a state prison for men in Napanoch, Ulster County, New York. Eastern is one of the oldest prison facilities in the state. It has been a maximum security prison for men since 1973. History The site ope ...

and

Taconic Correctional Facility Taconic Correctional Facility is a medium/minimum security women's prison in Bedford, New York operated by the New York State DOCCS. Although the prison has a maximum 387-person capacity, the incarcerated population was under 170 as of Novembe ...

are studying for either BA or AA degrees from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

as part of a

prison education Prison education is any educational activity that occurs inside prison. Courses can include basic literacy programs, secondary school equivalency programs, vocational education, and tertiary education. Other activities such as rehabilitation pr ...

program. The documentary highlights important feats and milestones in the incarcerated individuals' college careers such as their thesis defenses, graduation, and victory over the Harvard debate team.

Reception

The documentary received generally positive reviews. Daniel Fienberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote "it's so humane and emotional that it will probably have you brushing away tears as you're pondering bigger questions." Hank Stuever of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the documentary "inspiring" and Ashlie D. Stevens of ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' wrote " neof the strongest elements... is that it assesses all the complexities of education in the prison system."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official PBS page
English-language television shows 2010s American documentary television series