Peace Studies

Violence, power and privilege go together, but we often take them for granted. We live in a country at war, we are exposed to real and fictional violence via TV, the internet and entertainment, and we live in an economic and governmental system that abuses and disempowers millions of men, women and children because of their gender, race, or economic situation. In the midst of this, how do we begin to define – let alone cultivate – peace and nonviolence?

Let's start with power. 

In this class we will work on seeing and dismantling the kinds of power that make violence possible. We will begin with a basic study of violence, and the history and theory of nonviolence. Through our study of 20th century US-American social movements, we will discover that some of the same flashpoints for violence – gender, racial identity, social class – can also be powerful components of peacemaking and movements for nonviolent social change. Subsequent units on gender, racial identity and social class will allow us to relate the "personal" and the "political," to name oppressive power where it exists and to begin to cultivate alternatives. Service trips will allow us to delve deeply into a study of structural violence, solidarity, advocacy and activism.

We will end the semester by sharing what we have learned and the tools we have acquired. And because this is technically an English class – and because art can sometimes bypass our brains and speak directly to our hearts – we will also read memoir and poetry, write memoir and poetry, and use creative writing, graphic design, narrative construction and documentary filmmaking to further explore and articulate these ideas. The final project in Peace Studies is an 8-10 minute documentary film that is filmed, edited, directed and produced by students.