Changing Lives Through Literature Launches New Blog, "Changing Lives, Changing Minds"
Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), the nationally recognized alternative sentencing program founded in Massachusetts, recently launched a new blog, entitled "Changing Lives, Changing Minds."
Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), the nationally recognized alternative sentencing program founded in Massachusetts, recently launched a new blog, entitled "Changing Lives, Changing Minds." The blog, hosted at http://cltl.umassd.edu/blog, features biweekly posts on topics at the intersections of literature and criminal justice. The blog counts among its authors and readers a score of judges, probation officers, professors, graduate students, and many others from the United States and abroad.
The blog is a bold step towards bringing increased attention to CLTL and the issues the program addresses. "We wanted to create a space where individuals with interests in literature and criminal justice could come together to discuss important issues in their fields," marketing and media advisor Jenni Baker explains. "The blog allows for an easy exchange of ideas between people who otherwise wouldn't come in contact with each other or the CLTL program."
In the three months since its inception, "Changing Lives, Changing Minds" has already sparked insightful posts on literature and criminal justice, especially from Massachusetts professionals. UMass Dartmouth Education Professor Maureen Hall's "The Benefits of Deep Reading: Neuroplasticity in Action," for example, investigates how deep reading can alter the structure of the brain. Executive Director of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ronald P. Corbett Jr.'s essay "Buber in Brookline," engages the insight of philosopher Martin Buber to advocate for mutually receptive and respectful relationships between judges and criminal offenders.
Professor Robert Waxler, Co-Director of Changing Lives Through Literature and English professor at UMass Dartmouth, is pleased with the blog's success thus far. "We have had an excellent response to the CLTL blog so far from people interested in criminal justice and from those who enjoy thinking about literature," he remarks. "The power of a blog is that it can be read by people around the world, and so this blog is particularly helpful for the ongoing expansion of the CLTL program."
Changing Lives Through Literature was founded in 1991 on the power of literature to transform the lives of criminal offenders. The program, which now operates in twelve states and England, sentences criminal offenders to a series of literature seminars in lieu of traditional probation. Studies of the program reveal that program graduates are less than half as likely to re-offend than their counterparts in the criminal justice system. The program has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the New England Board of Higher Education, among other organizations. For more information, visit http://cltl.umassd.edu.
The blog is a bold step towards bringing increased attention to CLTL and the issues the program addresses. "We wanted to create a space where individuals with interests in literature and criminal justice could come together to discuss important issues in their fields," marketing and media advisor Jenni Baker explains. "The blog allows for an easy exchange of ideas between people who otherwise wouldn't come in contact with each other or the CLTL program."
In the three months since its inception, "Changing Lives, Changing Minds" has already sparked insightful posts on literature and criminal justice, especially from Massachusetts professionals. UMass Dartmouth Education Professor Maureen Hall's "The Benefits of Deep Reading: Neuroplasticity in Action," for example, investigates how deep reading can alter the structure of the brain. Executive Director of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ronald P. Corbett Jr.'s essay "Buber in Brookline," engages the insight of philosopher Martin Buber to advocate for mutually receptive and respectful relationships between judges and criminal offenders.
Professor Robert Waxler, Co-Director of Changing Lives Through Literature and English professor at UMass Dartmouth, is pleased with the blog's success thus far. "We have had an excellent response to the CLTL blog so far from people interested in criminal justice and from those who enjoy thinking about literature," he remarks. "The power of a blog is that it can be read by people around the world, and so this blog is particularly helpful for the ongoing expansion of the CLTL program."
Changing Lives Through Literature was founded in 1991 on the power of literature to transform the lives of criminal offenders. The program, which now operates in twelve states and England, sentences criminal offenders to a series of literature seminars in lieu of traditional probation. Studies of the program reveal that program graduates are less than half as likely to re-offend than their counterparts in the criminal justice system. The program has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the New England Board of Higher Education, among other organizations. For more information, visit http://cltl.umassd.edu.
