‘Punishment: the US Record’

On November 30 and December 1, Social Research, the journal of the New School for Social Research in New York City, will host “Punishment: The US Record.” The two-day conference, which is co-sponsored by the ACLU, will feature leading activists, writers, and legal scholars in rare public dialogue about the foundations of American punishment and the effects of current approaches to punishment. Events include readings by Richard Gere, the actor, and his wife, the actress Carey Lowell, of selected writings of people in prison, at 6 PM on November 30; and a roundtable discussion on alternatives to current incarceration practices, moderated by Brent Staples of The New York Times, at 5 PM on December 1. More information is available at www.socres.org/punishment.