Some of you may be interested in joining the Peace and Collaborative Development Network to connect with other students and professionals with similar interests.
For one example, see Craig Zelizer’s recent post “A Guide to Nonviolence in Practice” and the comments that follow about resources on nonviolent action.
The Peace and Conflict Studies program was honored and privileged to host two outstanding peace studies scholars May 21-23, 2009. Lester Kurtz and Joe Liechty, from George Mason University and Goshen College respectively, came to the college to examine two of our graduating seniors in the honors program. We appreciate both the students’ and the examiners’ work and the stimulating exchange of ideas and experience. We look forward to maintaining relationships with Professor Kurtz and Professor Liechty and their respective programs.
Dr. Lester Kurtz – George Mason University
Lester R. Kurtz
Lester Kurtz is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University, where he teaches peace and conflict studies, comparative sociology of religion, globalization, nonviolence, social movements, and social theory and is helping to shape a new Ph.D. program in Public Sociology. He holds a Master??s degree in Religion from Yale and a? Ph.D. degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago. He is the editor of a three-volume Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, co-editor of Nonviolent Social Movements, and The Web of Violence as well as author of books and articles including Gods in the Global Village, The Nuclear Cage, and The Politics of Heresy. Lester is the past chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Association as well as the Peace, War, and Social Conflict Section of the American Sociological Association, which awarded him its Robin Williams Distinguished Career Award in 2005.
Joseph Liechty
Dr. Joseph Liechty – Goshen College
Joseph Liechty is Plowshares Associate Professor of Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies and serves as the Chair of the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Department at Goshen College, in Goshen, Indiana.? A scholar, peace practitioner and mission worker in Ireland for 23 years, Joe most recently served as the graduate program coordinator and lecturer in reconciliation studies at Trinity College Dublin (Belfast campus) and was also a mission associate with Mennonite Mission Network. He previously co-directed the Moving Beyond Sectarianism project for the Irish School of Ecumenics. He has written extensively on sectarianism, reconciliation and Irish history and co-authored Moving Beyond Sectarianism: Religion, Conflict, and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland with Cecelia Clegg. Joe received his bachelor’s degree in history from Goshen College and his doctoral degree in Irish History from St. Patrick’s College in Ireland.
Professor Ellen Ross, who serves on the Peace and Conflict Studies committee, and Chris Densmore, Curator of the Friends Historical Library will join Elaine Pryce, Pendle Hill’s Henry J. Cadbury Scholar for 2008-9 to discuss Quietism and Quakerism in the Barn at Pendle Hill on Thursday night, May 28, 7:30-9:00 p.m. Visit Pendle Hill’s website for more information and directions.
Students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Lang Center for our annual picnic yesterday in order to socialize and congratulate our graduating seniors of the class of ’09!
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to sit outside because of the rain, but we enjoyed the opportunity to mingle and welcome new students, and we presented Prof. Amanda Bayer with a gift to mark her eleven years of service to the program. Prof. Bayer coordinated the program for at least four of those years and has made many important contributions. We appreciate her leadership!
Peace and Conflict Studies minors Kevin Kim ’12, Reina Chano ’09, Jonathan Leung ’09, and Maurice ’09 enjoy some of the delectables during our indoor picnic.
A recent article that appeared in The Phoenix offers a historical perspective on peace and justice activism at the college.
“During her time at Swarthmore, Miriam Feingold Real ’63 was no stranger to the county jails. An ardent activist who was involved in organizing many of the demonstrations against segregation in Chester, Pennsylvania and Cambridge, Maryland, Real believed that sometimes sacrifices had to be made in the name of social justice. ‘Some of the activities we were involved in ended up with us being arrested,’ Real said. ‘I remember spending several days in jail with my school books from Swarthmore, attempting to do my homework and study.’ Real is only one of many students in the history of the college who have translated their concern with social justice into explicit activism. This dual dedication to academics and social change has been a mark of Swarthmore’s reputation for years, but few have questioned to what extent it is a part of the College’s history.” … Read the whole story by HANNAH PURKEY in the March 5, 2009 issue of The Phoenix.
George Lakey has served as the college’s Lang Visiting Professor of Issues for Social Change within the Peace and Conflict Studies Program for the past three years. Faculty, students, and staff gathered on Friday, May 1, 2009 to show their appreciation and sing Broadway show tunes in Parrish Parlor. We have been privileged to have such a dedicated and experienced colleague in Peace and Conflict Studies. George has brought much energy, expertise, and humanity to our lives, and we look forward to working with him in the future. We have learned so much! Thank you, George.
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George Lakey leads students, faculty, and staff in, appropriately, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught.”
Students for a Democratic Society held an Anti-War Conference from April 23-25 that addressed the ways in which the anti-war movement can extend beyond pacifism. According to Maurice Weeks ??09, a member of SDS, this semester the group took on a stronger anti-war focus. “Anti-war issues were sort of moving further and further off of people’s radar, especially with the economic crisis,” Weeks said. — Read the full story by AMELIA POSSANZA at The Phoenix.
Thursday, April 23 through Saturday April 25, 2009
The Beehive Design Collective presents:
“Dismantling Monoculture”
A visual tour of the connections between militarism, resource extraction and resistance.
Thursday April 23rd, 4:30pm Science Center lawn (between Kohlberg and Sci Center) (Rain location: Kohlberg coffee bar)
Sponsored by Forum for Free Speech
http://www.beehivecollective.org/
“Perspectives on Anti-War”
A discussion of militarism as it intersects with our identities and political struggles, the relationship between war and nationalism, classism, racism and sexism, and where we go from here. Hosted by Students for a Democratic Society.
Friday April 24th, 4:15pm Hicks Mural Room 312
“From the Front Lines”
A moderated panel discussion on the wars from a veteran’s perspective with John Grant and Frank Corcoran, two members of Veterans for Peace who served in Vietnam, and U.S.M.C. Cpl. James Gilligan, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saturday April 25th, 1:30pm Science Center 101
“Anti-War Movements outside the U.S.”
Dinner and discussion with Lang visiting professor and lifelong activist George Lakey on war resistance beyond US borders. Home-cooked dinner included!
Saturday April 25th, 6:30pm Lang Center Keith Room
(Directions and maps are available.)
Contact: Dermot Delude-Dix ddelude1 at swarthmore dot edu
Craig Zelizer, founder of the Peace and Human Development Network, suggests ten top sites for news about conflict and peace. See his blog post.
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Dear Colleagues
In today’s increasingly connected world there are thousands of resources available to obtain news and analysis about conflict and peace related issues. However, there are not that many sites that provide true in-depth analysis, reflection from a deep conflict or peace perspective. Within the field of conflict resolution there has also been a rapid growth in the field of peace journalism or peace media. The basic concept is that instead of media reporting passively on conflict related issues or doing a superficial analysis, or possibly serving as a tool to inflame and escalate conflict, media practitioners can play a critical role in getting at the roots of conflict, looking at underlying issues, reporting in peace initiatives, etc.
This short posting will highlight some of the key peace media and related sites that you may find useful in obtaining information. Please also feel free to share additional resources. Obviously, not all sites listed below are impartial, but they do provide useful information and perspectives.
1) International Crisis Group – The International Crisis Group is now generally recognised as the world??s leading independent, non-partisan, source of analysis and advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.
2) Search for Common Ground – Founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground works to transform the way the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative problem solving. Search is one of the pioneering organizations in developing and producing peace media around the world through their Common Ground Productions Unit which their media arm. Using television, radio and Internet programming, CGP transforms the way individuals and societies deal with conflict: away from adversarial approaches, towards cooperative solutions. Whether countering “hate radio” in Africa or hate crime in the United States, Common Ground Productions is dedicated to harnessing the power of the media for peace.
3) Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF News Network – Provides a list diverse sources related to peace and conflict issues around the world. Instead of focusing on one source, the network encourages users to question the opinion or coverage of a few media. As they explain, search for your own understanding. The tools are here. Globalization – and the Internet – are rapidly revolutionizing the way we understand the world. Become an eclectic news collector and fight the trend toward standardization and monopolization of our right to be well informed.
4) Global Voices – is a leading participatory media news room for voices from the developing world. Since its founding in 2005, Global Voices has grown into a vibrant global community of more than 150 active volunteer authors and translators and more than 20 freelance part- time regional and language editors. Today, Global Voices is thriving, vital component of the global media environment, helping individuals and media professionals around the world gain access to the diverse voices coming from citizen media. We base our coverage on the words, images, and videos of ordinary people across the globe who use the internet to communicate and broadcast their thoughts, analysis, and observations.
5) Peace Media Clearinghouse – A New Multimedia Resource for Peacemakers developed by the United States Institute of Peace and Georgetown University. The clearinghouse provides a central site where individuals and organizations working in the conflict management field can access materials that support conflict analysis and prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. At the same time, the site will encourage development of the field itself by distilling best practices for creating and using multimedia in support of conflict management activities.
6) Youtube – is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.
7) Alertnet – is a humanitarian news network based around a popular website. It aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe. AlertNet attracts upwards of ten million users a year, has a network of 400 contributing humanitarian organizations and its weekly email digest is received by more than 26,000 readers.
8 ) Transcend Media Service – Part of the Transcend Network. The site provides original reporting that seeks to go beyond the usual questions, ??How many were killed today??? and ??Who is winning??? to ask two additional ones: ??What is this conflict about??? and ??What are possible solutions???
9) Institute for War and Peace Reporting – builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice.
10) BBC News – Premier site of UK’s leading news agency.
11) Al Jazeera English – the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, is headquartered in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The organisation is the world’s first global English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. From this unique position, Al Jazeera English is destined to be the English-language channel of reference for Middle Eastern events, balancing the current typical information flow by reporting from the developing world back to the West and from the southern to the northern hemisphere.The channel aims to give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions.
12) Ode Magazine -s a print and online publication about positive news–the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better. Ode’s aim is to bring a new reality into view, to explore opportunities for positive change (including peacemakers) in our daily lives and our daily minds. You can sign up for a free daily newsletter of positive news. If you would like to subscribe to the magazine, there is a special rate for members of the Peace and Collaborative Development Network (currently only for people in the US), see http://www.odemagazine.com/pcdn
by Stacey Kutish
4/14/2009
(original release by Swarthmore College)
Swarthmore College first-year students Joshua Cockroft and Kimberly St. Julian have been awarded a Davis Project for Peace grant for their proposal to develop sanitation and hygiene practices in rural Madagascar. The $10,000 grant will enable them to travel to Madagascar this summer where they will work with a community to build pit latrines away from potable water sources, engage in a community education project about hygiene and sanitation practices, and conduct research on the culture of peace in Madagascar.
The Davis Project for Peace program, in its third year, is made possible by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an accomplished internationalist and philanthropist. Mrs. Davis launched the program on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2007. Designed to encourage and support motivated youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace throughout the world in the 21st century; each of the 100 projects selected received $10,000 in funding.
 Joshua Cockroft ’12 |
Joshua Cockroft of Lafayette, Colo. plans to major in political science and minor in peace and conflict studies and environmental studies. “This experience will give great insight into my academic interests,” he says. “As part of our grant, we will study the ethnically diverse culture of Madagascar that has predominantly managed to peacefully coexist for over a thousand years without much ethnic conflict. This grant will give us the opportunity to work in a culture entirely different from our own, doing something to help where the results of our work can be seen directly.”
 Kimberly St. Julian ’12 |
Kimberly St. Julian from Dayton, Texas, plans to major in history, with minors in political science and peace and conflict studies. “Before Swarthmore, I never had the opportunity to really delve into my interests in social work and human rights and put them into action to benefit others,” she says. “This grant will afford me with the opportunity to put my passion for helping others into action. I have never been out of the country so this will be an eye-opening experience for me in every possible way.”
During their stay in Madagascar, Cockroft and St. Julian will live in the village where they will be working. The pair intends to write about their experiences with the Malagasy people and their culture, in particular studying how a community with so much ethnic diversity has managed to live in peace.