University of Justice – Bachelor of Science in Cultural Studies

Focus: Restorative Justice | 4-Year, 8-Semester Degree Plan

The Bachelor of Science in Cultural Studies with a Focus on Restorative Justice at the University of Justice equips students with interdisciplinary tools to analyze and address the complex intersections of cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Through a curriculum grounded in critical theory, community engagement, and policy innovation, students develop a deep understanding of systemic inequities affecting marginalized communities. This program emphasizes restorative frameworks that recognize historical harms, recenter cultural sovereignty, and empower communities to reclaim agency over land, identity, and tradition.

Key Benefits of the Program:

Fosters Critical Consciousness: Students gain insight into the cultural rights of Indigenous, diasporic, and historically oppressed groups, examining how colonization, globalization, and legal systems have eroded autonomy and self-determination.

Develops Practical Skills: Graduates acquire competencies in policy advocacy, conflict mediation, land rights negotiation, and grassroots organizing—skills essential for transforming justice systems.

Career Pathways: Prepares students for impactful roles in environmental conservation NGOs, tribal governance, international human rights institutions, educational reform, and transnational justice initiatives.

Year 1: Foundations of Culture, Justice, and Community

Semester 1

JUST 1101 – Introduction to Cultural Justice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1301 – Foundations of Social Justice

Explores core principles of cultural justice, including dignity, representation, autonomy, and the role of law in shaping cultural rights. Examines case studies from Native American, African Diaspora, and Pacific Islander communities.

JUST 1205 – Cultural Rights and Human Dignity

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1310 – Human Rights and Cultural Identity

Analyzes legal and ethical frameworks that protect cultural expression, language, and spiritual practice. Discusses UNESCO declarations, ICCPR, and tensions between state regulation and cultural sovereignty.

JUST 1310 – Land, Lineage, and Property

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1325 – Property, Power, and Community

Introduces historical and legal dimensions of land ownership, focusing on Indigenous land tenure, communal stewardship models, and the impact of colonial property law on familial and cultural continuity.

JUST 1000 – Academic Literacy for Justice Scholars

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1100 – Critical Writing and Research Methods

Develops academic writing, source evaluation, and interdisciplinary research skills tailored to justice-centered scholarship.

Semester 2

JUST 1120 – Family, Kinship, and Cultural Continuity

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1350 – Kinship, Law, and Social Structure

Examines how legal systems recognize or disrupt traditional family structures, inheritance practices, and gender roles across cultures. Explores child welfare systems, forced assimilation, and intergenerational trauma.

JUST 1230 – Colonial Histories and Cultural Dispossession

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1365 – Empire, Erasure, and Resistance

Surveys patterns of cultural erasure through colonization, including language suppression, religious conversion, and the criminalization of traditional practices.

JUST 1415 – Introduction to Environmental Justice and Land Stewardship

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1380 – Ecology, Equity, and Society

Analyzes the relationship between environmental degradation and cultural loss. Focuses on frontline communities defending ancestral territories and sacred sites.

JUST 1010 – Introduction to Restorative Practices

Transfer Equivalency: UH 1340 – Conflict, Healing, and Community

Introduces restorative justice models through case studies, circles, and reconciliation processes, emphasizing healing over punishment in intercultural disputes.

Year 2: Structures of Power and Policy

Semester 3

JUST 2110 – Treaty Law and Land Reservations

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2311 – Native Sovereignty and U.S. Law

In-depth study of treaty rights, federal Indian law, reservation boundaries, and jurisdictional conflicts. Analyzes landmark cases (e.g., McGirt v. Oklahoma) and tribal self-governance.

JUST 2225 – Statutes of Liberty and Legal Restrictions on Cultural Practice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2330 – Civil Liberties and Cultural Expression

Explores how freedom of religion, speech, and assembly are legally protected or restricted, particularly for marginalized groups engaging in ceremonies, dress, or subsistence practices.

JUST 2340 – Cultural Heritage and Intellectual Property

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2355 – Ownership of Tradition

Investigates ownership of traditional knowledge, sacred symbols, and biocultural resources. Addresses biopiracy, patenting of Indigenous seeds, and digital repatriation.

JUST 2015 – Interdisciplinary Methods in Justice Research

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2300 – Qualitative and Participatory Methods

Trains students in ethnographic fieldwork, oral history, community-based research, and ethical engagement with vulnerable populations.

Semester 4

JUST 2150 – Cultural Rights in the Global South

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2370 – Postcolonial Justice Movements

Examines land reform, cultural revival, and state violence in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Focuses on peasant uprisings, Indigenous autonomy declarations, and landless movements.

JUST 2265 – Conflict Resolution Across Cultural Boundaries

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2390 – Mediation and Intercultural Dialogue

Teaches negotiation, facilitation, and dialogue techniques for resolving disputes involving cultural misunderstanding, land use, or heritage protection.

JUST 2420 – Environmental Sustainability and Cultural Resilience

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2410 – Climate Justice and Indigenous Knowledge

Highlights Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a vital resource for climate adaptation, species protection, and sustainable agriculture.

JUST 2020 – Justice Practicum I: Community Partnership

Transfer Equivalency: UH 2500 – Field Experience in Social Justice

Students engage in 80 hours of service with a local tribe, cultural center, or environmental justice group, applying classroom learning in real-world advocacy settings.

Year 3: Advanced Inquiry and Advocacy

Semester 5

JUST 3130 – Restorative Justice and Land Reclamation

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3335 – Reconciliation and the Return of Sacred Lands

Explores legal, moral, and spiritual dimensions of land repatriation. Case studies include Hawaiian sovereignty, Aboriginal land back movements, and urban land trusts.

JUST 3245 – Policy Advocacy for Cultural Equity

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3400 – Law, Lobbying, and Social Change

Trains students to draft policy briefs, testify before legislative bodies, and design campaigns promoting cultural rights at local, state, and international levels.

JUST 3355 – Gender, Culture, and Justice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3420 – Feminist Perspectives on Cultural Rights

Examines how gender norms are constructed, policed, or reclaimed within cultural frameworks, with emphasis on Two-Spirit traditions, matrilineal societies, and reproductive justice.

JUST 3030 – Ethics of Representation

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3380 – Media, Museums, and Narrative Power

Critiques representation in documentaries, museums, and social media. Students learn protocols for ethical storytelling and co-creation with source communities.

Semester 6

JUST 3160 – Transnational Justice and the Right to Culture

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3450 – Global Institutions and Cultural Rights

Analyzes roles of the UN, ICJ, and ILO in protecting cultural rights across borders. Investigates diaspora claims, refugee heritage, and multinational extractive industries.

JUST 3275 – Sacred Sites and Legal Protections

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3475 – Religion, Law, and Geography

Evaluates U.S. and international laws safeguarding sacred lands (e.g., American Indian Religious Freedom Act). Discusses conflicts with development, mining, and infrastructure.

JUST 3430 – Healing Justice and Community Transformation

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3500 – Trauma, Resilience, and Cultural Revival

Integrates psychology, ritual, and public health to understand how communities heal from systemic trauma through cultural reclamation and ceremony.

JUST 3040 – Justice Practicum II: Campaign Design

Transfer Equivalency: UH 3550 – Strategic Advocacy Project

Students design and implement a public awareness or policy campaign addressing a cultural justice issue of their choice, in partnership with a community organization.

Year 4: Synthesis, Leadership, and Application

Semester 7

JUST 4140 – Independent Research in Cultural Justice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4300 – Capstone Research I

Students propose a thesis or applied research project under faculty mentorship, integrating interdisciplinary methods and ethical community engagement.

JUST 4255 – Advanced Conflict Mediation and Negotiation

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4320 – High-Stakes Dialogue and Peacebuilding

Uses simulations, real cases, and guest practitioners to deepen skills in mediating disputes involving land, heritage, and cultural recognition.

JUST 4366 – Indigenous Governance and Legal Pluralism

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4340 – Law Beyond the State

Explores how tribal courts, customary law, and hybrid legal systems operate alongside state law. Focuses on jurisdiction, sovereignty, and treaty implementation.

JUST 4050 – Seminar in Global Conservation and Justice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4360 – Protected Areas and People’s Rights

Critically assesses conservation models like national parks and UNESCO sites, emphasizing co-management, Indigenous-led conservation, and resistance to "green colonialism."

Semester 8

JUST 4180 – Capstone: Cultural Justice Initiative

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4390 – Applied Justice Capstone II

Students deliver a public presentation, policy proposal, or educational tool based on their research. Projects are peer-reviewed and presented to community stakeholders.

JUST 4290 – Internship in Restorative Practice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4400 – Professional Internship in Social Justice

12-week placement with organizations such as Native American Rights Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, UNESCO, or local cultural preservation councils.

JUST 4410 – Future Visions: Decolonizing Institutions

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4450 – Transformative Futures

Seminar explores radical alternatives to current systems: land trusts, cultural reparations, abolitionist pedagogies, and decentralized justice networks.

JUST 4000 – Senior Symposium: Voices of Justice

Transfer Equivalency: UH 4500 – Public Scholarship and Leadership

Students curate a public symposium featuring guest speakers, art, and their own research, showcasing the role of cultural justice in building equitable futures.

Program Outcomes:

Graduates emerge as culturally fluent advocates, equipped to navigate legal, ethical, and ecological challenges with empathy and strategic vision. Whether negotiating land treaties, teaching decolonial curricula, or leading international cultural rights initiatives, University of Justice alumni are prepared to steward a world where cultural diversity is not just preserved—but honored, restored, and celebrated.