On 15 October 2014, Dr Meredith Rossner (LSE) delivered a talk entitled ‘Just Emotions? Rituals of Restorative Justice’ as part of the Sociology subject area seminar series. You can find the abstract for the talk below.

 

Prof Fergus McNeill interviewed Dr Rossner about her new book and her research – you can listen to the interview here.

 

Abstract

Restorative justice scholars and practitioners offer a compelling argument for its widespread implementation, citing the potential to repair the harm of a criminal offense and reduce offending.  At the same time, there is evidence that it can have no effect or even make things worse. My work attempts to address these conflicting findings by analysing the micro level dynamics of how restorative justice encounters work as a unique form of justice ritual.  This talk will examine the main findings of my recent book on rituals in restorative justice, presenting a theory of restorative justice that focuses on the dynamics of the encounter, participants' emotional, linguistic, and bodily rhythms, and the development of solidarity or division within the group.  The approach involves a contrasting systematic empirical program, including a combination of qualitative interviews, detailed observations of discourse, face and demeanour, and quantitative analysis of systematically observed conferences.  I offer an explanation of how rituals unfold dynamically in space in time, and how these emotional trajectories may impact subsequent offending.

First published: 15 October 2014

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