WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2007-2008       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Forgiveness and Retribution
COL 252
Fall 2007 not offered

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 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 an 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 to learn the truth about the past sacrifices the claims of justice.

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA COL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459