The Peace Studies Program is an interdisciplinary minor that is readily adaptable to many major courses of study. The Peace Studies Minor curriculum has been built within the existing undergraduate course offerings of the university, drawing on relevant classes from nine departments, fulfilling our desire to create an interdisciplinary program. To complete the Peace Studies minor, students take five courses; in addition to two required classes (Phil 3303: Philosophies of Peace and PAX 4488: Seminar in Peace Studies), students select one each from three areas that correspond to the normative orientation of the minor: ethics, social identity, and application. Ethics is foundational to the study of peace, as it focuses on human identity and interactions with others, their environments, and the planet at large. The study of social identity is critical, too, as it develops students’ awareness of the dynamics of creative and destructive tension within and between social groups. The application area directs students to courses that emphasize the application of theories, methods, or philosophies related to peace studies from global perspectives. The goal of the seminar is to integrate prior coursework, practicum experience, and readings into a coherent picture of peace studies.
In addition to the above curriculum, students are given opportunities to attend lectures on peace related topics in the Peace Studies Lecture Series, have the chance to attend the annual Peace Conference, and to participate in peace related internships, study abroad programs, and student led peace and justice organizations.
As a field of study peace studies is an interdisciplinary mode of teaching, advocacy, research and scholarship. Originally located within the disciplines constituting the social sciences, peace studies faculty, activists, scholars and researchers now come from a disparate range of academic and non-academic fields and concerns.
In Peace and Conflict Studies: An Introduction, Ho-Won Jeong observes,
Our small planet faces various threats to human survival. Militarism, human rights abuses, poverty and economic inequity, the rapid growth in the world’s population, environmental degradation—all have become our major concerns. Over the past two decades, peace studies themes have emerged from the search for an alternative world order, an emphasis on sustainable development and the promotion of human rights as well as the prevention of war. More specifically, peace research interests lie in uncovering the relationships between inequality, injustice and power asymmetry on the one hand and violence on the other.
It is clear from the list of concerns noted by Jeong that if Peace Studies is to continuing developing as a field, then its practitioners, teachers, and scholars must come from within and across cultures.
The Peace Studies Program at KSU dovetails with Jeong’s assessment of the field’s concerns and adds that in order for a living alternative vision of peace to emerge we must work within and across cultures in as many areas as possible. Not only must students be prepared theoretically, but also practically.
The Peace Studies Lecture Series (insert link to schedule here) is sponsored by the Peace Studies program and is offered each semester during the regular school term. The Series brings a variety of speakers addressing topics of interest to those either studying peace or who have already embarked on a life of peacebuilding. The speakers are typically selected through recommendations from faculty and solicited recommendations from faculty who work in the area of peace study or related fields. Sometimes they lecture on a specifically selected topic, but usually they present information based on various work and research they already do or have completed.
Some past topics have included: tourism for peace, military chaplaincy, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, the American-Iranian conflict, and the academic study of peace. The Peace Studies Lecture Series is free and open to the public.
The annual KSU Peace Conference is sponsored by the Peace Studies Program. It is held during the spring semester. This year’s conference date is March 26, 2010. The goal of the peace conference is to provide members of the KSU community and the wider community with a combination of theoretical and practical talks, presentation, and workshops on a particular issue in Peace Studies.
Each year’s conference focuses on a particular theme. Some past themes have included: Peace and the Environment, Peace and Modern Day Slavery, Peace and Working for the Common Good, and Peace and Religion. Next year’s theme is Peace and the Economy.
