In this critical studio course, students will make prints and books that engage histories of political speech in printmaking, fine arts, and book arts through a critical investigation of the contemporary United States prison industrial complex. Through reading, viewing, and listening, the class will engage with the contexts and histories of prisons, policing, surveillance, and borders to design and make their own printed work that engages these critical issues. Class time will be divided between discussions based on readings and other references, field trips to relevant archives and exhibitions, and time in the studio learning to make simple bindings, set and print type, and develop visually engaging materials. We will also work with a partner organization for one or more projects during the semester and students with other specific social and political interests can also explore those in their work. Larger conceptual questions that underpin our work will include: What does it mean to make politically- or socially-engaged materials?, What are the goals of communicating through print?, What is the relationship of printed material to communication in digital times?, and How might we draw on and learn from histories of political expression to imagine contemporary possibilities of this work?