College of the Canyons professors Katie Coleman and Mehgen Andrade will deliver the scholarly presentation “Behind Bars: Forfeiting our Children” 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.

Coleman and Andrade will share their research on the social and psychological effects of incarcerating children. In the context of mass incarceration, the United States comprises five percent of the total global population and at the same time incarcerates 25 percent of the global population.

“The United States has more children in its prisons than any other industrialized nation,” said Pamela Williams-Páez, chair of the college’s scholarly presentation committee. “The presenters will examine the social and psychological effects of these policies and practices, providing alternatives and humane solutions to the problem.”

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the scholarly presentation, please contact pamela.williams-paez@canyons.edu.

About the Presenters

Katie Coleman is currently serving as College of the Canyons chair of the sociology and ethnic studies departments and as chair of the equity-minded practitioners workgroup. She is a critical sociologist specializing in the areas of gender, sexuality, deviance, crime and social control.

A COC alumna, Coleman received her master of arts degree in sociology from California State University, Northridge and a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her sociological research includes published papers on topics including the re-humanization of sexuality, the American prison system and the relationship between academia and intelligence agencies.

Coleman began teaching at COC in the fall of 2008, covering courses in deviance, criminology, critical thinking, gender studies, sexuality, social problems, statistics and death and dying.

Mehgen Andrade has been teaching psychology at College of the Canyons over 15 years. She is the lead faculty member for cognitive psychology—her personal and professional area of expertise—covering topics of memory, decision-making, reasoning and neurocognitive development. The focused area of her graduate research was eyewitness memory.

Andrade’s passion for academia extends beyond teaching, as she earned a juris doctor degree from Glendale University College of Law in 2021 and subsequently passed the California Bar Exam in 2022. This is in addition to her early academic pursuits in the area of cognitive psychology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln for a doctorate in psychology, a master of arts degree in psychology in general psychology at California State University, Sacramento, and a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology from Mills College.