Global Restorative Justice & Community Corrections

Instructor: Christina Stahlkopf. School: San Fransisco State University. Date: Spring 2009. Description: This course will examine the fundamental principles underpinning global practices in community corrections. Students will be introduced to the history and practice of community corrections and its application to criminal justice policy. In particular, this course will examine a wide variety of restorative justice practices, the contemporary form of community corrections being practiced around the globe, with the aim to understand the benefits and problems with this quickly growing phenomena as well as the place of the United States within these developments. Restorative Justice offers a refreshingly different framework for thinking about wrongdoing. It moves beyond the confines of traditional justice systems to embrace social justice principles. This course will offer students an opportunity to study the leading restorative justice practices to explore the possibilities Restorative Justice offers to move beyond the limitations of retributive justice. The goal is to increase students’ knowledge of how different cultures have utilized the community corrections movement and to note how despite vast cultural differences many countries have adopted similar practices. Moreover, one of the ultimate objectives of this class is to encourage students to critically examine if, how, and whether these international practices could be adopted here in the United States.