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FAll 2023 Peace and Conflict Studies Courses

Registration for the fall semester 2023 is coming up soon, so check out these exciting courses by our outstanding faculty! Flyers with course descriptions for PEAC courses are provided below. Check them out!

Prof. Wilson Becerril Brings New Courses in Fall 2022

In a recent blog post, we announced the arrival of Prof. Mike Wilson Becerril, who will offer TWO NEW COURSES in Peace and Conflict Studies for the fall semester 2022. We hope you will check them out and share with your friends:

PEAC 030: War in Lived Experience
PEAC 045: Peace and Conflict in Latin America

Find course descriptions below. These courses can be ADDED NOW through MySwarthmore.

PEAC 030: War in Lived Experience
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 am – 11:20 am

What is violence, and how do we learn to think of it? What is war and why is it started? How can it be avoided? How do we know when we are safe, or what insecurity is? How does media treat war and different forms of violence? How does war end? What are the links between war and everyday life? This course centers on these open questions to develop a framework to make sense of, and critically engage with, issues of conflict, violence, war, and peace. In history books, the news, and our language, violence and war seem to be pervasive. To understand and confront them, we must explore in-depth how they are experienced, interpreted, remembered, institutionalized, normalized, and challenged by everyday people. Exploring diverse approaches to war and peace “from below” and across different contexts, we will build tools to recognize and transform different forms of violence.

PEAC 045: Peace and Conflict in Latin America
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11:30 am – 12:20 pm

Most people in Latin America live under various forms of “violent peace.” Although most states are not at war formally, the means of violence have not receded despite several “waves of democratization,” and in fact, these have become normalized or concealed in everyday relations. Latin America today is reported to have the highest rate of homicides, worst levels of economic inequality, deadliest settings for environmental defenders, highest levels of police-committed killings, and highest levels of gender-based violence in the world. Likewise, it showcases a wide range of political plurality and representation, cultural and biological diversity, and rich historical trajectories often marked by successful struggles for alternative worlds, social justice, and international peace. This interdisciplinary course centers on a comparative, thematic, and chronological study of Latin America to understand the layered meanings and forms of violence, different methods and challenges of promoting justice, and lessons from attempts to build durable peace.

We are excited about these new courses and the opportunity to expand our department’s offerings. Thank you Prof. Wilson Becerril!

Prof. Michael Wilson Becerril — Professor Michael Wilson Becerril

New Course: SPAN103 – Trauma, afecto y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana

We are excited to share a new course coming in Spring 2022! Professor Nanci Buiza’s will begin teaching honors seminar SPAN 103: Trauma, Afecto Y Derechos Huamnos en la Literatura Centroamericana. This course is an elaborated companion to her course PEAC 038: Civil Wars and Neoliberal Peace in Central America. We congratulate Professor Buiza on receiving a Mellon Course Development Grant to create this new course.

What’s the difference between PEAC 038 and SPAN 103?

Prof. Buiza writes, “The PEAC038 course focuses on the sociopolitical and historical causes and consequences of armed conflict in Central America (1960s-early 1990s), the transition to peace and democracy, and the implementation of neoliberal economic reforms that came with the arrival of peace in the mid 1990s. The course, however, really does not study the cultural production (literature, film, art, music) related to these decades of instability in the region. My honors seminar in Spanish will focus on the cultural production of the region and how it relates to and engages with the above mentioned sociopolitical and historical forces.

The focus will be on the Central American region, mostly the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The seminar will incorporate theory to discuss issues of ethics, social justice, and human rights in a war-torn society. It will allow students to weave together critical and theoretical concepts of peace and conflict studies that they have learned in the program and apply them to our analysis and study of how cultural representations engage with sociopolitical turmoil; how performance artists engage with issues of social justice in nonviolent ways; and how cultural production as whole invites people to think about other possibilities to violence and state repression.”

Here is the course description. We highly recommend Peace program students consider registering for SPAN 103.

This honors seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations of human suffering, empathy, and pain. The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main authors in the region, we will analyze scholarly debates surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social justice, reconciliation, historical memory, and the human predicament in a postwar society.

Professors Will Gardner and Denise Crossan Teach Class on Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan

“4.11 原発反対デモin高円寺 Anti nuclear power protests in Kouenji” by SandoCap is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

This semester, professors Gardner and Crossan have been teaching a new course offering that lies at the intersection of Peace and Conflict Studies, Environmental Science, and Japanese history. From nuclear fallouts to natural disasters and the respective social movements they spawned, the class provides a comprehensive overview of the past and present traumas grappled with in Japanese society as well as avenues towards social change. Students will collaborate virtually with local community partners and peace activists on projects related to the studied topics. For students interested in taking this course, it is listed also for the Spring 2023 semester. The complete course description is quoted below:

“This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment, historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the “triple disaster” earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to contemporary environmental and peace activism.”

Course Alert: Spots open for PEAC094: Special Topics – Friends, Peace and Sanctuary

Interested in co-creating a graphic novel about migration with a small group of faculty/staff and individuals resettled to Philadelphia from Syria and/or Iraq? Then consider taking PEAC:094 Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary.

In addition to the course, which will meet at McCabe Library on Wednesdays 1:15-4:00 for the first half of the semester, students will participate in workshops facilitated by local community artist Josh Graupera to create a narrative that will then be illustrated by Eric Battle, who has done work with such companies as Marvel Comics. Students must be able to participate in all three workshops, which will take place at the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility on the afternoons of 9/9, 9/23, and 10/7.

Enrollment is by permission only. Interested students should send a short paragraph to Katie Price (kprice1) and Peggy Seiden (pseiden1) about why they are interested in the course.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

PEAC 094: Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
Instructors: Peggy Seiden & Katie Price
Wednesdays 1:15-4:00 PM | Ends before Fall Break

In this half-credit engaged scholarship course, students will learn about historical and contemporary refugees through a variety of methods, including readings, archival research, and co-creation. As part of the course, students will participate with resettled Iraqis and Syrians and Swarthmore faculty and staff in a series of artist-led workshops in which participants will co-create a graphic novella. The course will include discussions and written reflections based on the readings and workshops. This course is tied to Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary, a two-year project funded by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage that brings renowned book artists into conversation with Syrian and Iraqi individuals who have resettled to Philadelphia. Students will be working with and learning directly from project collaborators, and their work may be shared publicly on the Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary website and may also be published or exhibited in Spring 2019.

Limited to five students, by permission of instructors. Course will be taught CR/NC unless otherwise requested. The course will run for the first half of the fall semester.

Spring 2018 Course Offerings

The Peace and Conflict Studies program at Swarthmore College is happy to share its course offerings for the Spring 2018 semester.

21 courses are eligible for program credit, including 4 courses taught within the Peace and Conflict Studies program and 17 cross-listed courses.

Click here to download the list of eligible courses.

More information on Peace and Conflict Studies Courses:

PEAC 003: Crisis Resolution in the Middle East

PEAC 043: Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change

PEAC 049: Be the Change! Social Entrepreneurship in Principle and Practice

PEAC 135/SOCI 135: Social Movements & Nonviolent Power

Spring 2017 course: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle

PEAC 071B / SOCI 071B / POLS 081 Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle is a research seminar and writing course that contributes to the widely recognized Global Nonviolent Action Database, which is housed at Swarthmore College. See http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu

Great news: The course will be offered during the spring semester of 2017! Got questions? Contact Prof. Lee Smithey at lsmithe1. More information is available below. Spaces are limited.

Students will research a series of cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a 2-3 page narrative that describes the unfolding struggle. In addition to research/writing methods, students will also draw theories in the field. Strategic implications for today will be drawn from theory and from what the group learns from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles.

1 credit. Writing course. Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Lee Smithey
Thursday 1:15-4:00
Lang Center 106

PEAC courses for Spring 2017!

Check out all the great Peace and Conflict Studies courses on offer this spring 2017!

Peace and Conflict Studies Courses
Spring 2017

PEAC 003. Crisis Resolution in the Middle East

Eligible for POLS and ISLM credit

This introductory course is designed for students without a background in Peace and Conflict Studies or Middle East Studies. Central questions include: How do we define crises in the contemporary Middle East/North Africa region? How does the nature of the crisis (political, economic, social, and environmental) impact communities differently? How are grassroots actors, civil society institutions, states, and international organizations responding to these challenges in their nation-states and across borders? What transnational networks of solidarity have linked the Middle East to other regions across the globe? For instance, this course will examine the consequences of environmental degradation and escalating food prices on conflict and instability across the region. We will trace the origins of autocratic regimes in the Middle East and social movements calling for rights and reforms on one hand and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism (i.e. Al-Qaeda and ISIS). Furthermore, the course will explore crises such as contemporary Syria, and how local and international interventions aimed at reversing the marginalization of-and threats against-minority populations (ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, ability) have come to constitute a realm of crisis management. By understanding crises through the theoretical prism of human security frameworks, we will ascertain the prospects for democratization, development, pluralism, and peace in the region.

Sa’ed Atshan; Tuesdays 1:15-4:00; Kohlberg 116

PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality and Social Change

Eligible for GSST credit

How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of homo-nationalism and pink-washing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention to gender and sexuality? 1 credit.

Sa’ed Atshan; Mondays 1:15-4:00; Science Center 105

entrepreneur

PEAC 049. Social Entrepreneurship in Principle and Practice

Amidst market implosions, human conflict, environmental crises, and on-going demise of the welfare state, the need for new, durable organizational forms, committed to social change, is clear. Social entrepreneurship offers a unique model for creative conflict transformation and community problem solving. Using business practices, social enterprises seek to redress social and environmental concerns while generating revenue. Students will learn about the manifestation of social entrepreneurship principles and practice in non-profit, for-profit, and hybrid organizations. Then, students will draft plans for their own social enterprise, thereby garnering a deeper understanding of social enterprise as organizational forms, while also embarking on a journey to explore their own potential as social entrepreneurs. 1 credit.

Denise Crossan, Lang Professor for Social Change; Tuesday/Thursday 8:30-10:30; Lang Center 112

PEAC 071B Research Seminar: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle

(Cross-listed as SOAN 071B)

This one-credit research seminar involves working and updating the Global Nonviolent Action Database website which can be accessed by activists and scholars worldwide at http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu The Global Nonviolent Action Database was built at Swarthmore College and includes cases of “people power” drawn from dozens of countries. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will be expected to research a series of cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a 2-3 page narrative that describes the unfolding struggle. In addition to research/writing methods, students will also draw theories in the field. Strategic implications for today will be drawn from theory and from what the group learns from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles. 1 credit. Writing course. Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Lee Smithey; Thursday 1:15-4:00; Lang Center 106

PEAC 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches

(Cross-listed with SOAN 103)

This honors 2-credit seminar will introduce students to the most salient theoretical debates among anthropologists on humanitarian intervention around the world. We will also examine a range of case studies, from the birth of Western Christian humanitarian missions in colonial contexts to humanitarian interventions (e.g. military, food-based assistance, natural disaster relief, post-conflict reconstruction) today. The geographic scope of this seminar will encompass North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. We will consider, for instance, how anthropologists have examined relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. What social science scholarship has been produced on mental health interventions after political and natural crises in Haiti? How are victims of torture at the hands of the Indian military supported by international organizations in Kashmir? What is the nature of global Islamic humanitarianism today? How are local national staff employed by international organizations shaping humanitarian approaches to gender-based violence in Colombia? These are among the many questions we will address over the course of the semester.

Sa’ed Atshan; Wednesdays 1:15-4:00; Kohlberg 226

Fall 2015 Line-up of Peace & Conflict Studies Courses

In addition to all of the excellent courses offered across campus that may be counted toward a minor in Peace and Conflicts Studies, our own program curriculum is expanding next year!

PEAC 015. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies

In Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, we learn that peace and conflict are not mutually exclusive. To paraphrase Conrad Brunk, the goal of peace and conflict studies is to better understand conflict in order to find nonviolent ways of turning unjust relationships into more just ones. We examine both the prevalence of coercive and non-peaceful means of conducting conflict as well as the development of nonviolent alternatives, locally and globally, through institutions and at the grassroots. The latter include nonviolent collective action, mediation, peacekeeping, and conflict transformation work. Several theoretical and philosophical lenses will be used to explore cultural and psychological dispositions, conflict in human relations, and conceptualizations of peace. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach with significant contributions from the social sciences. U.S.-based social justice movements, such as the struggle for racial equality, and global movements, such as nonviolent activism in Israel/Palestine, and the struggle for climate justice around the world, will serve as case studies.

1 credit. Tues/Thurs. 1:15-2:30 pm

Instructor: Sa’ed Atshan

PEAC 039. Social Entrepreneurship for Social Change (NEW COURSE!)

By integrating innovative approaches with revenue-generating practices, social entrepreneurs and their ventures open compelling and impactful avenues to social change. In this course, students will learn about the pioneering individuals and novel ways that social entrepreneurship responds to social needs that are not adequately served by the market or by the state through in-depth case analysis of social change work (locally, nationally, and globally).

1 credit. Mondays 1:15-4:00 pm

Instructor: Denise Crossan, Lang Professor for Social Change

PEAC 053. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (NEW COURSE!)

This course will examine the historical underpinnings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how they have shaped the contemporary context in Israel/Palestine. We will approach this from a demography and population-studies framework in order to understand the trajectories and heterogeneity of Israeli and Palestinian societies and politics. For instance, how has the relationship between race and period of migration to Israel impacted Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israeli sub-populations differently? What explains divergent voting patterns between Palestinian Christians and Muslims over time? How can we measure inequality between Israeli settlers and Palestinian natives in the West Bank in the present? The course will also synthesize competing theoretical paradigms that account for the enduring nature of this conflict. This includes—but is not limited to—the scholarly contributions of realist political scientists, US foreign policy experts, social movements theorists, security sector reformers, human rights advocates, international law experts, and negotiations and conflict resolution practitioners.

Eligible POLS and ISLM credit.

1 credit. Tues./Thurs. 2:40-3:55 pm

Instructor: Sa’ed Atshan

PEAC 071B. Research Seminar: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle

(Cross-listed as POLS 081 and SOCI 071B)

This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic implications will be drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles.

1 credit. Mondays 1:15-4:00 pm

Instructor: Lee Smithey

Welcome back and new PCS courses for Fall 2014

Opposition to Vietnam War
Welcome back to all staff, students, and faculty! We are off and running, having completed the first week of classes, and we look forward to an exciting semester.

As students will know, the first two weeks of class constitute the drop-add period during which you can change your schedule. That means there is still time for us to announce two new courses to be added to the list of courses that may be counted toward a peace and conflict studies minor. Spots remain open in the following two courses. Check them out!

First-Year Seminar: Revolution and Revolt
English ENGL 009J
Professor Lara Langer Cohen

This course investigates the literature of rebellion from the late eighteenth century’s “Age of Revolution” to the Occupy movement. By taking such a long historical view, we will explore how the revolutionary past of the Atlantic world has helped—and might still help—renegades, outcasts, and dissidents imagine its revolutionary futures. We will read the work of not only famous revolutionary leaders but also infamous and obscure ones, including radical abolitionists, communists, anarchists, feminists, student activists, and more. Throughout the class, we will ask: How do writers define revolution? How do they measure its successes and failures? How do they interpret the memory of previous uprisings and envision possibilities beyond them?

Music and War
Music MUSI 105
Professors Micaela Baranello and Barbara Milewski

For centuries, and across different cultures, music has both served war and illustrated its victories and terror. Music has also provided powerful commentary on war, articulating human pain and protest in equal measure. In this seminar we consider these functions in key works of art and popular music of the 20th century—a century of two world wars—with excursions into previous periods and our own contemporary experience with the war in Iraq. We will discuss music of war; about war; against war; and in the shadow of war.