Module description
This module examines how individuals, communities, societies and states address legacies of violence and atrocity. We consider how best to commemorate and memorialize the experience of victims and survivors. What are the moral, ethical, legal and political imperatives for pursuing justice in the context of transitions to peace? What is the legal framework for pursuing accountability? What are the relative merits and disadvantages of retributive versus restorative approaches to seeking justice and accountability? And local versus international approaches? What is the impact of transitional justice? How effective are mechanisms for transitional justice at achieving their objectives? What is the relationship between peace and justice (and reconciliation)?
The module opens by introducing the legal, political and philosophical dimensions of key concepts of war, crime, atrocity and genocide, on the one hand, and the theory and practice of transitional justice on the other. In the first half of the course, we look at key mechanisms of transitional justice – trials, truth and reconciliation commissions and reparations, drawing on a set of empirical cases including former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Cambodia. In the second half, we look at some emerging areas of transitional justice practice, and the potential for transformative approaches using the arts and education and in relation to gender, and memorialization. Finally, we address the question of what works, and how we measure success in transitional justice, drawing implications for policy and research. The module seeks to facilitate student independence and initiative in exploring these issues.
Assessment details
Group Presentation (Formative, 0%)
2000-word Essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
The aims of this module are to:
- Provide multidisciplinary understanding of concepts, issues and debates regarding how societies and states confront and contend with legacies of war crimes and atrocity
- Synthesise, compare, and discuss key academic and practitioner approaches to problems of post-conflict justice, reconciliation, and peacebuilding.
- Foster understanding of, and critical reflection on legal, ethical, political, social and cultural dimensions of legacies of war and atrocity and the development of transitional justice as a field of study and practice.
- Improve communication (oral and written), analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills to a level commensurate with progression to postgraduate study, through engagement with selected readings in whole-class discussion and academic research assignments.
- Provide a curriculum supported by cutting-edge scholarship and a vibrant research culture that promotes depth and breadth of academic inquiry and debate.
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete the module will:
- Have developed detailed knowledge of and the capacity to engage in debate about key concepts and cases relating to war crimes, atrocity, justice, peace and reconciliation.
- Have developed knowledge and understanding of the key legal concepts and cases relating to war crimes and atrocity and mechanisms for transitional justice.
- Be able to synthesise, compare, and discuss academic approaches to post-atrocity justice and reconciliation in history and the social sciences, as well as international criminal law.
- Be able critically to reflect on the problem of contending with legacies of atrocity sociologically legally and historically.
Teaching pattern
This module will be taught in a combined lecture/seminar format over 10 weeks. Each 2-hour seminar will open with a brief introduction to the topic, supported by online materials and readings provided on KEATS and on the module reading list, and will include discussion, student presentations, group work and focused activities. If possible, there will be an opportunity to engage in additional activities such as a film screening or an organised visit to a relevant exhibition/institution/performance linked to the themes covered in the course.