[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ WesMaps Archive ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]
Academic Year 2005/2006

Forgiveness and Retribution
COL 252 SP

We have all been repeatedly enjoined to ¿forgive and forget¿ or to ¿turn the other cheek.¿ The desirability of forgiveness is often taken for granted, while the complexity of the process of overcoming anger is often overlooked. In this course, we will consider the ethics and politics of forgiveness as well as its opposite¿retribution¿through readings of literary works, religious texts (including the New Testament and the Talmud), and legal theory. We will explore the different roles of forgiveness and retribution can play in asserting the integrity of persons and in restoring a community¿s faith in itself and its institutions. Is forgiveness always compatible with self-respect, or can moral indignation and the desire for vengeance preserve and essential kind of dignity? If forgiveness must be extended by an individual who has had a genuine change of heart, to what extent is it possible to encourage forgiveness through such communal, legal processes as the hearings of South Africa¿s Truth and Reconciliation Commission? When is justice served by vengeance? How can we respond to crimes that seem unforgivable or unpunishable? Attention will also be given to the issue of confession: confession can help both victims and perpetrators come to terms with wrongdoing, but many worry that the juridical practice of suspending punishment in order to learn the truth about the past sacrifices the claims of justice.

MAJOR READINGS

J. M. Coetzee, DISGRACE
Ariel Dorfman, DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
Fyodor Dostoevsky, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
William Shakespeare, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
William Shakespeare, MEASURE FOR MEASURE
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA REPORT

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

In addition to writing short essays about the texts on the syllabus, students will undertake a research project about one of the many recent or current attempts to facilitate retribution, reconciliation and forgiveness through war crimes tribunals or other judicial processes (such as the Rwandan practice of Gacaca).

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA COL    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459