I hope everyone’s summer is off to a fine start and congratulations to all of our seniors who graduated yesterday.
Time to start thinking about next year already!
The 2012 Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference will be held October 4-6 at Tufts University in Medford, MA, which is within driving distance of Philadelphia (about 7 hours). The theme this year is “Anticipating Climate Disruption: Sustaining Justice, Greening Peace”
We are exploring student and faculty interest in driving a van or two up from the Tri-Colleges, probably departing on the morning of October 4 and returning on Sunday, October 7. Stay tuned for information about accommodation and registration. Information about the conference is available at http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/conference/ If you are interested in going on the trip, please fill out the form at http://bit.ly/tricopjsa12 We will be in touch with more information as it becomes available. Contact Lee Smithey at lsmithe1 if you have questions.
Please indicate your interest in attending by filling out the form below by midnight Wed. Sept. 6. Thank you! (You can also access the form at http://bit.ly/PJSA2012 )
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Adriana Popa ’12, honors Political Science major and Peace and Conflict studies minor from Pitesti, Romania, is heading to India after graduation, to work under the Davis Projects For Peace Award. The $10,000 Davis grant will support the efforts she and fellow Swattie Riana Shah ’14, from Ahmedabad, India, Sociology/Anthropology and Educational Studies major and co-founder (along with Jwalin Patel) of Independent Thought and Social Action – ITSA, will center around peace education and community building. The project, You(th) for Peace, will promote cross-cultural dialogue and help combat stereotypes, fear, and intolerance, allowing students and their families to envision a common future of peace and cooperation, and will encompass 10 weeks of educational and social action components in India, as well as an international component (through the international team that will join Adriana and Riana in India, the culminating conference, the series of Youtube videos and the curriculum translated into multiple languages that will be launched at the conclusion of activities in India). Adriana and Riana hope the spirit and model of You(th) for Peace will be replicated in various parts of the world. Adriana will draw on her extensive experience in promoting education, youth involvement and peace through her past work with organizations such as the Federation of Young European Greens, Genocide Intervention Network, Peace Child International, and Africa Change International, while Riana will add You(th) for Peace to her already rich experience in advancing independent thinking, social activism, and entrepreneurship to counter the passivity of the Indian education system. Adriana and Riana both have a great deal to thank Swarthmore for in regards to their interest and involvement with education and peace work. Adriana’s Peace and Conflict Studies experience has been one of the most formative ones in her life: “For years I had associated war with a pointed gun and peace with its absence. Through my education, I came to understand that war begins far away from the ammunition warehouses, the same place where peace is born: in people’s hearts and minds. Peace begins with understanding, and education is the best tool for that.” Riana benefited from several generous Swarthmore grants, including the Lang Opportunity Scholar Grant from the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, which have contributed to her perspective on a potential avenue of involvement: “The curriculum in many Indian schools is test-driven and rote-memorization based, creating an environment which doesn’t offer students a chance to intensely participate in critical thinking, which is something that Swarthmore prizes and encourages.”
