UW’s department of peace and conflict studies (PACS) has announced a new academic plan focusing on restorative justice (RJ), along with a new special topics course entitled “Prison and Police Abolition as Moral Imagination.”
The RJ diploma is open to all UW students, while the RJ specialization is available for those majoring in PACS. Both plans require the completion of six courses, and “will explore different remedial approaches to current problems in the criminal legal system, study the philosophy and historical roots of restorative justice, and apply anti-racist and decolonial lenses to understand the dynamics of power in the justice system,” according to the department’s webpage.
Johonna McCants-Turner, associate professor of peace and conflict studies, wrote that RJ as a philosophy “emphasizes healing and accountability to repair harm and injury, build healthy relationships, and create thriving communities.”
McCants-Turner will also be teaching the department’s forthcoming special topics course, PACS 301: Special Topics in Peace and Conflict Studies I, “Prison and Police Abolition as Moral Imagination.” The course will be offered in the fall 2024 term, and will take an interdisciplinary approach towards the topic of prison and police abolition. Students must be in their 2A term or higher to enroll. More information on the course can be found in a YouTube video featuring McCants-Turner.
