CONN 277 | Restorative Justice, Transformative Justice and Abolition

This course investigates the theory and practices of restorative and transformative justice and abolition from multiple disciplines including fiction, legal studies, first person accounts, theory and film. The course begins with an introduction to the principles and practices of RJ and TJ, emphasizing the concepts of harm, healing and repair. To present a context for the rise of the Restorative Justice Movement in the US, the course examines the ways in which the US criminal legal system causes, rather than deters or prevents harm and violence. We focus on communities that are most impacted by this system, and link our current system to histories of colonization, enslavement and white supremacy. The course shifts to an analysis of how Restorative Justice, Transformative Justice and abolition practice and process can be engaged in response. We look at how people are engaging RJ and TJ in prisons and as diversion, as well as in schools to interrupt cycles of violence and harm. The course will explore the different ways that communities approach RJ, TJ and abolition, to make it more culturally relevant and responsive to people's shared histories and current needs.