History 435 - Reparations

Following World War II, the term "reparations" took on new meaning in the global order.  Rather than referring to damages paid by states to other states (by defeated to victorious powers), the term came to mean damages paid by states to groups of individuals wronged within their own polities.  This seminar will explore a variety of reparations programs, both those implemented and those demanded.  Cases will include reparations programs for the Holocaust and the confinement of Japanese Americans during World War II, as well as municipal reparations programs designed to address housing discrimination against Black Americans. In addition, the class will explore demands for reparations to Black Americans stemming from slavery, Jim Crow, and more recent discrimination; and those raised by former colonies against past imperial powers.  Throughout, we will explore general questions: Can reparations ever make good the harm done?  What makes for more and less efficacious reparations programs? Has the quest for reparations come to substitute for other more utopian visions of society? Students will write a 20-25 page research paper based on primary sources on any topic related to reparations, including cases of and/or movements for reparations not otherwise studied in the seminar. One meeting per week. Limited to 15 students. 

Spring semester. Professor Epstein.

How to handle overenrollment: History majors who are juniors, then history majors who are seniors, then history majors who are sophomores; then seniors and juniors from other departments.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Students will be expected to complete a 20-25 page research paper based on primary sources; they will be expected to give a short presentation about their research paper; and attendance and participation at all course meetings required.