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Apr 19, 2024
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2020-21 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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IP 537 Restorative Justice
3 credits
Restorative Justice (RJ) has grown exponentially over the last 30 years, from a handful of programs offering victim/offender conferences to hundreds of programs worldwide and has become a social movement. Very few people disagree with the need for to reform the present criminal justice system and suggestions for change abound: from privatizing prisons, to making laws more just and fair, to getting tough on crime, to creative experimental new programs in education, Restorative Justice is a growing social movement that begins with a fundamental rethinking of the very nature of what justice is. RJ offers a model that facilitates a vision of justice that is participatory for those involved in and affected by harmful behavior, potentially empowering to victims, offenders, and, in some cases, the affected community, and holds the goal of making right (as much as possible) the harm caused by the offending behavior. At present RJ is a fairly broad umbrella of practices, including victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, peacemaking circles, victim-offender dialogue in crimes of severe violence, truth and reconciliation commissions, and others.
The present course compares the ethos and implications these programs as they impact and/or challenge current judicial practices, explores strengths and weaknesses of Restorative Justice in current discussion, investigates emerging areas of practice such as in prison populations and schools, and traces the role of facilitators in Restorative Justice practices. As a social movement, Restorative Justice is inherently political, aiming to change the status quo. Therefore questions such as, “How can Restorative Justice change the body politic in terms of its understanding about justice?” “Who are the stakeholders in the present system and how can they be addressed?” and “What role can Restorative Justice play outside of the legal code or judicial system?” are raised.
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