Literacy as Public Health: The Orichalcum Tower Review and Prison Education Equity
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This poster examines literacy deprivation in U.S. carceral institutions as a form of structural violence and a measurable public health crisis. Drawing on Gramsci, Sweezy, and Foucault, the analysis argues that low literacy rates among incarcerated populations are actively reproduced through institutional mechanisms that restrict educational access rather than reflecting pre-incarceration disadvantage alone. NCES and RAND data are situated within a structural violence framework to demonstrate that literacy deprivation follows a direct and documentable causal pathway to poor health outcomes. Anecdotal evidence from a failed attempt to establish a literary feedback loop with incarcerated writers further illustrates institutional gatekeeping in practice. Implications are drawn for social work practice, policy, and research.
Author: Bernert, Joseph
Institution: Michigan State University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7146988669
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