Restorative Justice in Historical and Comparative Perspectives
Led by Professor Katherine Beckett and Martina Kartman, this course will compare indigenous and restorative approaches to justice in the United States and New Zealand, which is often held up as an exemplar of how restorative practices may be combined with Western legal institutions. What lessons does New Zealand offer for advocates seeking to respond to harm wrong-doing without reliance on jails and prisons?
Course Descriptions:
LSJ 491: Indigenous Justice, Colonization, and Resistance (5 Credits) SSc, DIV
This course will explore varying indigenous ways of addressing conflicts and pursuing justice in pre-colonial contexts in Aotearoa, what is now New Zealand. Readings, field trips anc guest speakers will help students identify both the similarities and differences in these practices across and within the two settings. We will also explore the impact of colonization on these practices and the process by which Western criminal legal institutions were established. This course will enable critical engagement with and assessment of representations of indigenous practices that animate contemporary debates and conversations about RJ.
Learning goals include:
- Understand pre-colonial indigenous ways of doing justice and the impact of colonization on those processes.
- Analyze the historical processes and dynamics associated with colonization and their impact on indigenous communities today.
- Synthesize diverse learning materials into concise written analyses.
- Develop skills in critical thinking, writing, discussion facilitation, and presentation of ideas.
LSJ 490: The Politics of Crime and Punishment in Aotearoa (5 Credits) SSc, DIV
This course will explore how political dynamics and developments have impacted punishment practices and policies in New Zealand in recent decades. Course materials and guest speakers will illuminate why prison populations and racial disparities in the criminal legal system grew in recent years. Finally, this course will explore the impact of high incarceration rates among Maori and Pasifika people for individuals, families, and communities.
Learning goals include:
- Assess how political and institutional factors affect criminal legal processes, policies, and outcomes.
- Analyze the causes and consequences of racial disparities in New Zealand prisons and criminal legal systems.
- Synthesize diverse learning materials into concise written analyses.
- Develop skills in critical thinking, writing, discussion facilitation, and presentation of ideas.
LSJ 495: Contemporary Indigenous and Restorative Justice (5 Credits) SSc, DIV
This course will explore the development of Restorative Justice practices as a response to the harm caused by colonial/Western systems of justice in the Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Course materials, guest lectures, and field trips will illuminate the tensions and possibilities of varied Restorative Justice and Indigenous approaches and practices and alternative ways of implementing RJ in the context of Western legal systems.