Justice Ideals and Practices in History
A full-year course of inquiry that uses several episodes in European
and American history from the middle ages to the present, as well as
engagement with contemporary movements and controversies, to ask what
"justice" has meant to women and men, how people have tried
to achieve and institutionalize their aspirations toward a just world,
and how and why both goals and practices have changed over time. Among
the most important goals of the first semester is an understanding of
how "the rule of law" became a central feature of modern western
notions of justice, and how change in law, justice, and the nation state
may be connected to transformations in people's work, in the organization
of their productive activities, and in relations between women and men.
In 1999-2000, episodes for analysis and investigation will include a
peasants' revolt in 1381, radical initiatives towards a "constitution"
for England of the 1640s, Nat Turner's rebellion against slavery in
1831, and the "Bread and Roses" Strike of 1912 in Lawrence,
Massachusetts. During the second semester, students will engage in off-campus
projects,, in order to develop historical understanding through participation
in and investigation of groups or projects publicly committed to the
achievement of "justice" in the Pioneer Valley today. At the
end of the academic year, students will be asked to explain (1) how,
or whether, historical inquiry and analysis may deepen and clarify understanding
of contemporary legal institutions and of movements dedicated to individual
rights or social justice, and (2) how, or whether, participation in
current struggles over justice may strengthen understanding of the ways
that people make history.
- Harold Garrett-Goodyear
- Skinner 209, ext. 2451
Office Hours (ordinarily): Mondays, 1:15-3:15 and Thursdays, 9:00-10:30
| Copyright 2002 Mount
This page is maintained by H. Garrett-Goodyear.