Corporate Reckoning: How Businesses Can Address Historical Wrongs

Mon., May 11, 2026, 12 – 1 p.m.



Survivors and descendants increasingly demand accountability from governments, universities, museums, seminaries, and corporations for historical harms. While business leaders may know how to fix failing products or teams, many are unprepared to address legacies of mass atrocity such as slavery, genocide, or colonialism. Some deflect responsibility, arguing their actions were legal at the time or that too much time has passed; others simply lack a clear path forward.

In this webinar, Sarah Federman offers a practical approach for responding to these calls for reckoning. Drawing on her book Corporate Reckoning (MIT Press, 2026), she introduces an atonement model grounded in case studies across industries, regions, and historical contexts.

Although demands for reckoning may ebb and flow, these histories persist. Confronting them is neither easy nor comfortable, but meaningful accountability requires engaging directly with the past rather than avoiding it.

Online Location: Zoom Webinar
Gazette Classification: Ethics, Law, Special Events
Organization/Sponsor: The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
Speaker(s): Sarah Federman, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego
Contact Info: [email protected]
Harvard Key Required: No
More info: www.pon.harvard.edu…