The topic of shame has become a controversial issue in restorative justice. I’m convinced that an awareness of shame and its dynamics is critical for the field but I also believe there are serious dangers of misunderstanding and misuse. It seems clear that shame plays a major role in human psychology and interactions. It is....
Research as art, transformation and justice
During the last several weeks I turned 65. I also discovered the field of arts-based research (ABR). These two events are more connected than they may seem. As I contemplate moving toward semi-retirement, I have been thinking that I might devote more of my attention to the arts and to their intersection with restorative justice.....
Is there justice in restorative?
Following the recent 2nd Annual Conference of Restorative Justice Practices International I had the privilege of spending several days on Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, with three experienced restorative justice practitioners who are former students of mine – Catherine Bargen, Aaron Lyons and Matthew Hartman. Our conversations were wide-ranging while....
What do restorative justice and revenge have in common?
When I wrote Changing Lenses in the 1980s, I positioned the concepts of retributive and restorative justice as opposites. Later, in The Little Book of Restorative Justice, I acknowledged that this was not always helpful and, in fact, masked some important commonalities between their underling assumptions. Now I want to go further and explore the....
Paradigms and possibilities
I’ve always assumed that the ubiquitous erectile dysfunction ads in the media today were a recent abomination. Turns out I was wrong. One of the first radio pioneers to realize the potential of the electronic media was a “doctor” John Romulus Brinkley (his medical degree was purchased by mail order from Eclectic Medical University in....
Partial justice?
We often equate restorative justice with encounter. In its “original” form – the model of practice that led to the establishment of this field – this meant a facilitated encounter between victim and offender. Paul MCold, in an early issue of Contemporary Justice Review, has taken it further: in what he calls a “purist” view,....
Restorative justice as a framework for art
I was honored and inspired recently to be part of a “Visual Restoration” opening at the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia. This was a culmination of a two-year restorative justice arts program. Two large outside murals resulted and a new book about the project, entitled Visual Representation, was released at this opening. I was fortunate....
Good intentions aren’t enough
Recently my daughter Nicole and I walked through the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, now a museum. I had been there before for an opening – in fact, my exhibit of lifers has been shown there – but had never been through this historic prison. I have posted a few photos of the prison on....
Restorative justice and peacebuilding
As my colleague Lisa Schirch suggests in The Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding, here at CJP we use the term peacebuilding as an umbrella concept to include many fields of activity that contribute to just and peaceful societies. Colleague Barry Hart uses a wheel diagram to illustrate this. Each segment or spoke is a way....
Dialogical photography
Lately I have been tutoring some of my photography students in portrait photography. Since these are one-on-one sessions, we take turns sitting for one another as we experiment with lighting, angles and poses. My portraits on the masthead of this blog and on the CJP restorative justice page were made by Pushpika Weerakoon in one....