Reparations for Slavery and Colonization: Contemporary Movements for Justice
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this anthropology seminar on reparations movements arising from European colonization in Africa. Readings and discussion apply concepts of violence, human rights discourse, memory, and group identity formation to two ongoing reparations cases: Algerian claims against France, and claims from the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda against Belgium. Students work through critical texts on how harm gets narrated and measured, then apply that analysis to the practical work of activists and legal advocates pursuing these claims today. The course includes a syllabus, weekly reading assignments, and discussion materials typical of an MIT undergraduate seminar, though no video lectures. It suits students interested in colonial history, transitional justice, or the anthropology of law and human rights, and offers a grounded case-study approach rather than abstract theory.