Transitional Justice

This course examines how democracies reckon with former authoritarian regimes and their legacies. Measures adopted to overcome the legacy of large-scale human rights

violations include apologies, amnesties, trials of perpetrators, truth commissions as well as restorative justice. Case studies from Asia, Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and the US help us understand the forces and factors that shape the difficult choices: to prosecute and punish versus to forgive and forget. Course readings supplemented by documentaries and fiction films illuminate the dilemmas societies confront to provide accountability for the victims, bystanders and perpetrators. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1283) 3 hrs. sem. (Comparative Politics)/