Spring 2018: “Reparations”

Course Description

Racial reparations have been and continue to be one of the most explosive contemporary issues. Some argue that this country’s history of enslavement renders some form of reparations necessary to the quest for social justice; that understanding reparations is central to honest conversations about race and racism. Others argue that reparations for past injustices such as slavery are unfair. Still others refuse to discuss the topic altogether. This course will cover in comprehensive detail the issues surrounding programs of group compensation for grievous injustice. Particular emphasis will be given to the controversies surrounding the call for reparations for African Americans with a focus on economic dimensions of the debate. Close attention will be given, for example, to procedure for construction of measures of appropriate pecuniary compensation in the event that such a program is adopted. The course convened Wednesdays 11:45 pm – 2:15 pm in Biological Sciences Rm. 063.

GIRI Capstone Conference: “Reparations”
Erwin Mill Building – Duke University
Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Racial reparations have been and continue to be one of the most explosive contemporary issues. Some argue that this country’s history of enslavement renders some form of reparations necessary to the quest for social justice; that understanding reparations is central to honest conversations about race and racism. The Global Inequality Research Initiative Capstone Conference on Reparations explored these issues. The conference featured a keynote address from sociologist Joe Feagin, Ella C. McFadden Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M, Malik Edwards, Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University, and GIRI student research presentations. View conference photos here.

GIRI students Hannah Riemann (left) and M’Balou Camara (right) present their research project titled “Rwandan Genocide.”

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