Restorative Justice: A Very Short Introduction

As a community approach rooted in Indigenous practice, RJ follows the Circle process. This process can take multiple forms and are an embodied philosophy of living. More and more, restorative practices are being used in schools (k-12) to enhance the community’s sense of belonging and to “develop participants’ confidence in their own ability to reach mutual understanding and develop creative solutions.” RJ is also transforming how we negotiate with the criminal justice system in the United States because RJ “seeks to examine the harmful impact of a crime and then determines what can be done to repair that harm while holding the person who caused it accountable for his or her actions.” Finally, many universities use RJ as an alternative option to handle sexual misconduct “with evidence of feasibility, safety, and justice satisfaction among participants” because “when implemented appropriately and effectively, restorative justice processes support the shared interest of victim survivors, institutions, the Office for Civil Rights, and student conduct professionals” and our communities.

So, what is Restorative Justice?

Our working definition: Restorative Justice looks to repair harm caused by “our” actions. Sometimes harm is not measurable. Harm can be physical, but it can often be emotional. Relationships and communities are also harmed, not just individuals. RJ seeks to include all the people that have been harmed in finding solutions. It holds offenders accountable and encourages them to take responsibility for their actions. The key terms are repair, accountability, and community. Restorative Justices seeks to repair relationships by repairing harm. We can repair harm by taking accountability for our actions. It means taking responsibility for the things we have said and done.

RJ is often used to counteract the harm that punitive justice systems enact to most communities because it addresses “the dehumanization frequently experienced by people” in these systems. Because punitive justice systems focus on punishment, they ask: 

• What was done?

• Was it a crime?

• Who broke the law?

• What is the Appropriate punishment for said crime?

These questions drive a lot of the ways that institutions, including schools and universities, interact with students and each other. We are all harmed by using a model that focuses on punishment instead of growth. This punitive model is not unlike the model espoused by scholars such as Joseph Campbell, whom we will discuss in a different chapter.

In contrast to the punitive justice system which seeks punishment, Restorative Justice is measured in how successfully it repairs harm. RJ asks:

What happened?

• Who has been hurt?

• What are their needs?

• Whose obligations are these?

• What are the causes?

• Who has a stake in the situation?

• What is the appropriate process to involve stakeholders to address causes and repair harm?

These questions will guide us as we read early world literature.

Restorative Justice in the Classroom

We begin with the premise that we need community to feel heard, we need community to be empowered, and we need community to want forgiveness and accountability. Therefore, in the context of the Early World Literature classroom, an entry level college course, we begin by asking:

• Why is it that the communities that created these texts found them so appealing?

• Why is it that our modern communities continue to find these texts important?

• Why do universities continue to teach these texts?

• Why do so many of these texts reside in Europe and the United States even when the texts are from different parts of the world?

After thinking through these broad questions, then we can move to using the RJ questions above to guide us through reading early world literature texts.