“The traditions of the oppressed teach us that the state of emergency in which we live is not the exception, but the rule”

Walter Benjamin (1940); Thesis VIII, “Theses on the Philosophy of History” or “On the Concept of History”

This course will explore theoretical frameworks and global case studies regarding democratic transitions and transitional justice, that have emerged within contexts of crimes against humanity and state violence, including genocide, femicide or feminicide, and ecocide, with emphasis on perspectives and experiences grounded in the Global South. Issues related to “peoples in movement” (migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, exiles, and internally displaced persons, understood as transnational subjects of collective rights), and indigenous peoples will be recurring referents for us throughout the semester.

We will approach these cases from a counter-hegemonic (e.g., “from below”), critical, de-colonial, intersectional, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and inter-civilizational perspective. The principal objective of this class is to promote the creation among all of us who participate in it, as a community of collective and reciprocal learning, dialogue, reflection, and praxis.

Our exploration of issues related to crimes against humanity, state violence, and transitional justice will include cases related to the legacies of authoritarian rule during the Cold War era in Latin America, Africa, and Asia as well as in the post-Soviet context. It will also include situating Taiwan’s experiences with colonialism and authoritarian rule, including state and structural violence against indigenous peoples, martial law, and the “White Terror”, as a key case study with global implications, within a broader comparative framework regarding processes of decolonization, democratic transition, and transitional justice.

Key additional themes that will serve as guiding threads throughout the semester include feminist contributions to critical legal and social theory; issues related to ecocide, climate justice, and climate change, and key examples of the ways in which art, literature, and culture reflect, respond to, and resist the impact of processes of political repression and violence. Readings will be supplemented throughout by films (in class and on your own) and video clips, plus attendance at, or coverage of, relevant public events.

Topics and readings may be adjusted in response to unfolding global events.

Our emphasis will be on leading examples of global scholarship and praxis related to international law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law. We will explore the historical origins and evolving relationship between these disciplines from the Nuremberg and Russell tribunals to the International Criminal Court, related regional and national developments and their implications, and the role that constitutional and other legal reforms can play in such contexts.

We will also explore the potential role in these settings of tribunals of conscience, “citizen’s” or “people’s tribunals” (including Taiwan’s “Constitutional Court Simulation”) as mechanisms intended to help influence popular opinion as to complex human rights issues. and how literature and culture reflect the impact of processes of political repression and violence.

The focus of the course will be on an overview of the state of the art of the most recent, cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarship regarding the historical origins, development, and impact, and social and cultural dimensions of the case studies we will explore, and on the perspectives, responses, and demands that have been generated by social movements grounded among affected groups.

The format of this course combines lectures, multimedia presentations (Power Point, video clips, examples of media coverage and analysis of relevant issues, guest speakers), discussions, brainstorming sessions, readings, and group tasks. Contents will include analysis of how key issues in the course have been explored through cultural modes of expression (film, theater, literature, performance, music, art, etc.).

Texts (see detailed list below) will be divided up between required texts that all students will read, plus background or more specialized reading that will be done by rotating, small groups of students who will then present this text to the class as a whole.

All texts will be scanned and posted on the NTU COOL platform for the course or electronic links provided as necessary. Whenever possible, texts will have Chinese translations or versions available, which will be indicated.