Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2019 - IS 808 G300

Special Topics in Governance and Conflict (4)

Transitional Justice

Class Number: 8201

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 3 – Apr 8, 2019: Fri, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

Description

COURSE DETAILS:

Transitional justice refers to a broad set of policies and processes aiming to provide redress for legacies of political violence and gross human rights violations. These mechanisms have become central to policy debates regarding conflict resolution, peace-building, and democratization. This seminar critically examines normative and empirical debates over the choices of transitional justice and their consequences for democracy, human rights, conflict resolution, peace, and societal reconciliation, through the comparative study of post-authoritarian and conflict-affected cases.

Weekly classes will consist of short lectures, seminar discussions and group work. The first part of the course will introduce transitional justice concepts, explore their significance, examine global developments, and engage debates about the politics of memory. Then in the second part, we will spend several weeks examining specific transitional justice mechanisms, such as amnesties, prosecutions, truth commissions and others. The third part will examine: the role of international criminal justice and the “peace versus justice” debate; long-term impacts in historical cases such as post-WWII Germany; and the relevance of transitional justice in contemporary settler democracies. The final two weeks are devoted to the students’ presentation of their final essays and peer reviews.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This is a reading and writing intensive seminar. Students will regularly write short discussion papers on themes in the readings and very short responses to their peers’ work, participate in discussions, and write and present a final paper comparing transitional justice processes and their impacts.

Grading

  • participation (during all class sessions) 20%
  • 5 discussion papers (500 words each) 30%
  • 5 short responses to discussion papers (100-150 words each) 10%
  • final essay proposal and outline (200-300 words) 5%
  • an oral presentation of the final essay (4-5 minutes) 5%
  • final essay (3500-4000 words) 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

There is no textbook to be purchased. All required articles and book chapters will be available through the library, either in electronic format or on Library Reserves. On average, there will be about 75-100 pages of reading per week. MAIS students will have additional readings.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS