Eve Hanan

What's the most important thing you are working on right now?

I’m in a fascinating conversation with researchers who study the qualitative experience of imprisonment. They work on-site in prisons and conduct literary analyses of prison memoirs. It’s fascinating to see how diverse and unpredictable prison experiences can be, and yet definite themes emerge. The next question for me is, should we attach any legal significance to our understanding of what prison is like? What should it mean to the sentencing judge or to lawmakers? Currently, we see a lot of interest in what life is like inside prison, but it’s really unclear whether or how that should be relevant to punishment decisions. Also, if you want a recommendation on a good prison memoir to read over spring break, ask me.

How do you approach teaching your favorite topics? Your least favorite? 

My approach to teaching my favorite topics is, first, to hope that my enthusiasm is contagious. I also try to demonstrate what is interesting or especially important about the topic. For my least favorite topics, my strategy is to look for cases or current events that demonstrate the legal principle in surprising and entertaining ways. Criminal law is often serious and saddening, but the slightly silly cases are out there, too. 
 
What have you read, listened to, or watched recently that has influenced you or your work?

Related to the work that I am doing now on the qualitative experience of prison, I am listening to Ear Hustle, a podcast created by people incarcerated at San Quentin. The hosts are humorous and insightful, and address a variety of topics. They talk about everything from current events to the otherwise lost art of letter-writing. While the rest of the world sends electronic messages, handwritten letters are still the mainstay of communication between people in prison and their families. And one episode featured San Quentin musicians.