Truth, Justice & Reconciliation

4 credits · Undergraduate

How do people and communities envision and enact justice in response to state-sponsored and state-sanctioned violence? How have TRCs (Truth and Reconciliation Commissions) and analogous approaches taken shape in the U.S., in response to state-sponsored violence, including “legal violence”? With South Africa’s TRC as a foundational model, this course will examine an array of community-based strategies for surfacing truths about historical harms, pursuing accountability through apologies and reparations, and restoring relationships, communities, artifacts, and lands. We will address the challenges when establishing official commissions, reaching out to communities, and following through with recommendations.