This module focuses on how societies emerging from different types of conflict (such as war, genocide, ethnic violence and grave human rights abuses) engage in the process of coming to terms with their past. It examines official mechanisms of ‘transitional justice’ such as trials and truth commissions, as well as cultural forms of remembrance, civil society initiatives and local practices. By exploring the complex relationship between conflict, memory and justice in various cross-cultural settings, it seeks to provide an understanding of the ways in which dealing with the past can both promote and hinder ‘reconciliation’ and the rebuilding of social and inter-communal ties. The module also examines how external actors and institutions (particularly international criminal justice institutions) influence state and sub-state processes of facing the past.
Various case studies, including Japan, South Africa, Rwanda, Germany and Serbia, will inform the theoretical discussions and provide a comparative perspective.
Films and documentaries are an integral part of this module and most weeks will have a film as required watching, in addition to the readings.
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