Charles Long Social Science
Love is Contraband in Hell: Exploring Empathy Amongst College Volunteers in Prison
Scholars Journal
Charles' research is a longitudinal, mixed-methods study examining the development of empathy in UC Berkeley students who tutor incarcerated learners through the Teach in Prison program. Building on a previous cross-sectional study, this research administers the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) before and after a full academic year of tutoring. The study also integrates qualitative data from class discussions and in-depth interviews. This project seeks to determine whether prolonged engagement in carceral education fosters measurable growth in empathy. It is among the first studies to empirically assess whether empathy can be rebuilt through volunteerism, in response to documented national declines in dispositional empathy among college students.
Major: Sociology, Social Welfare
Mentor: Victoria Robinson, Ethnic Studies