This course is an exploration of interpersonal forgiveness from philosophical and theological perspectives, with insight from social sciences and lived experience. The course will consider power dynamics involved in forgiveness, considering race, gender, and pressure from religious and political sources to forgive too easily. We will examine moral emotions such as anger, which play a valuable role in social justice movements, and how to hold this in tension with a positive concept of forgiveness. We will also explore how an understanding of trauma might inform our understanding of forgiveness. We will discuss the issue of reparations and whether or not
forgiveness ought to be conditional and what those conditions ought to be; consider the relationship of love and justice with regard to forgiveness; examine forgiveness in collective and political contexts, including in South Africa and Rwanda; and finally consider self-forgiveness. [Auditors with faculty permission]