Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

Dean’s Lecture Series: Thalia González

Monday, February 15 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Restorative Justice at the Crossroads: From Practice to Policy to Systemic Reform

Light lunch will be served starting at 11:30am. Please RSVP to sw-rsvp@austin.utexas.edu 

Restorative justice in the United States is at a crossroads; it is no longer simply viewed as a grassroots practice, but instead as a policy solution in such areas as school discipline, youth justice, child welfare, violence, policing, racial disparities, mass incarceration, and recidivism.  In this lecture, Professor González will discuss the growth of the restorative justice movement, its shifting focus, and how restorative justice is currently being used across the United States in a diverse range of systems.  She will also highlight the tensions between aspirational and practical understandings of restorative justice, as well as the versatility of restorative approaches to address some of the most pressing contemporary issues.