Memory, Reconciliation, and Healing: Transitional Justice

Undergraduate / Graduate

Across the globe, recent national attempts to transition out of authoritarian rule and to manage the legacies of political conflicts have invoked discourses and questions of human rights. In the last fifty years, millions of people across the world have experience periods of protest and mobilization, violence and genocide, the emergence and entrenchment of armed revolutionary forces, and repressive governments. As these periods came to an end, the governments, civil societies, and individual citizens in each country have had to face the challenges of rebuilding social fabric, trust, and democratic culture while memorializing the past and considering the root causes of past conflict and authoritarianism. These processes have include discourses of rights (e.g. transitional justice, but also participation, democracy, education, etc.) and have shaped the lives of millions of individuals in these countries as well as the trajectories of each nation and its governments. The proposed course draws on Peru, South Africa, and Ireland as case studies to guide students in comparatively analyzing the transitional processes and current implications. The goal of the course is for students to explore how these societies and their citizens have sought to deal with these problematic national histories and what ways these processes continue to influence each society. The students will leave the class with a better understanding of how conflict and post-conflict issues and developments.