Course Description
Summary
Restorative Justice is a set of values and practices that are having a considerable impact on the way our justice system, schools, workplaces, conflict zones and communities think about and enact justice. Restorative Justice asks: What if harm doers were given the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends? If survivors were able to be active participants in defining what justice is and how it could be enacted to help them to heal and move on? And if the larger community was involved in this accountability and healing process? It also asks the more elemental question: how can we help people to care more about each other and to heal when harm has been done?In the current social environment, we are questioning the value and humanity of our current system of “justice”. Given this potential openness to change, it is not enough to say that the American system of punishment does not achieve these goals. Restorative justice claims to provide the structure and philosophy needed to make this transformation to justice more real. But what are the philosophical, psychological, social and emotional values, concepts and practices on which it is built and can be mobilized to support that change? How can we ensure as much as possible that restorative justice is actually restorative and what theory and practices are most valuable in that effort? This class is both about theory, ideas and practice. It will expose you to many of the core ideas and practices of restorative justice. It is also a class that will teach students how to do restorative practice work (circles, facilitated dialogue) and offer you opportunities to engage in and share those practices with the whole Bennington College community. Learning Objectives• Learn and understand the history and underlying philosophy of restorative justice.• Learn about and use restorative practices with one another and the larger college community.• Understand the ways that restorative justice can build community and address conflict.• Provide opportunities to be part of the Restorative Justice Collaborative on campus.
