Justice and Morality in the North American Context
23-24 October 2025
Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Sousse
The legal maxim Fiat justitia ruat caelum, or “let justice be done though the heavens fall”, holds the belief that justice must be realized despite all the odds. Yet the term “justice” is rooted in the Latin word jungere, which means to bind and tie together (Duggal and Gohil 2021). As such, while the legal maxim cited above embodies the notion of absolute justice, the etymology of the word hints at justice’s ultimate goal which is creating unity and harmony in society through enforced laws. However, and despite existing solid justice systems, both national and international, humanity at times faces the impossibility of achieving justice.
What is justice then? Is it merely the application of legal texts and immutable standards within national and international judicial frameworks? Or is it the alignment of such standards to societal, cultural, and humanitarian dimensions? What if legal texts fail to achieve social harmony? This conference on Justice and Morality endeavors to rethink these notions and their conceptualization as they span over humanity with a specific focus on issues pertaining to North American history, politics, media, and culture while looking at the philosophical, political, cultural, humanitarian, and historical underpinnings of justice. Some topics we encourage may examine, though not exclusively, the following dimensions:
Resistance and the (im)possibility of Justice
Some forms of justice cannot be achieved within legal frameworks despite agreements that bind national and international political actors/institutions/governments. For instance, the inefficiency of the international legal system can be seen in the incapacity of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold accountable perpetrators of injustice and even human rights violators. Possible themes of research can be:
- Justice or the lack thereof in U.S. foreign policy
- U.S. foreign policy on transitional justice
- Narratives of resistance and justice
- Indigenous resistance and the struggle for justice in North America
- Historicizing (in)justice
- Grassroots movements and transnational solidarity
- (Alternative) Forms of resistance: vengeance, commemorations, story-telling, and advocacy for reparations
Divine Justice and Religion in North America
As conceptualized in many religious traditions, divine justice is perceived as an absolute form of justice in its moral authority. For example, the invocation of divine justice in American public discourse is evident in debates surrounding issues such as abortion and capital punishment. Divine justice can also be seen in Indigenous traditions in North America which conceptualize justice through spiritual and communal frameworks rather than purely legalistic ones. Possible themes of research can be:
- Divine Justice and religiosity in the North American political tradition
- Advocacy in relation to legal provisions on the abolition of the death penalty and abortion
- Indigenous perspectives on justice and spiritual law in North America
Environmental Justice and Moral Policy Making
The present climate crisis is inherently caused by forms of extractive capitalism that heavily impact the lives of communities for the sake of sustaining fossil capitalism spurred by the U.S. global empire, American militarism, and the increasing production of greenhouse gas emissions. Looking into these new forms of oppression that hamper communities’ right in a safe and healthy environment while shedding light on structural
forms of injustice is necessary to assess the impact of the absence of morality in environmental policies on society. Possible themes of research can be:
- Case studies of environmental (in)justice in the U.S.
- Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice in North America
- U.S. policies on capitalism, industrialism, and modes of production
- The role of Native nations and Indigenous-led movements in climate advocacy for land and water protection.
- Environmental campaigns and justice movements and their impact on U.S. policy reform
Equity, Race and Gender
A very significant concept tied to justice and society is that of inequality. Addressed by one of the most prominent theorists of justice in the 20 century, John Rawls, in his eminent work Theory of Justice (1971), this concept stipulates that “all social values—liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, and the social bases of self-respect—are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any, or all, of these values is to everyone’s advantage” (Rawls 55). Rawls’ premise that there could be justice in inequality indicates that equity matters in the process of
achieving justice. Possible themes of research can be:
- Affirmative action and minorities in North America
- Equity, (in)equality and (in)justice in North America
- Gendered dimensions of justice processes
- Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)
Media and Justice
Media outlets can play an important role in influencing the public’s perceptions of justice. While such outlets can provide a space of accountability, they can also amplify or obscure narratives of injustice. Moreover, the emergence of the digital age reformulated the paradigm within which justice can be represented, contested,
or manipulated. Possible themes of research can therefore be:
- Media representation of racial and social (in)justice in North America.
- The role of journalism in exposing systemic injustices
- Social media activism and its impact on justice movements
- Indigenous narratives, media representation, and justice in North America
- The ethics of media coverage in high-profile criminal cases.
Please note that:
Contributors are encouraged to send an abstract of 300 words to justice.morality25@gmail.com before July 15 , 2025.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent on August 15, 2025.
Selected articles will be published by Ecole et Littératures Research Lab.
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