Peace & Conflict Studies Major

Contact:
Vernie Davis, Director of Peace and Conflict Studies and the Conflict Resolution Resource Center

Amal Khoury, Assistant Professor

Peace and conflict studies is an interdisciplinary major that studies the nature of conflict and violence, the possibilities of social change, and the means for resolving and transforming conflict nonviolently. The major draws on Guilford’s Quaker heritage by seeking the roots of situations of injustice and oppression, exploring nonviolent social change, emphasizing each individual’s search for truth within different levels of community and focusing on practical problem-solving.

Peace and conflict studies melds two related fields of study, conflict resolution and peace studies, in a complementary, creative interaction. It encourages an interdisciplinary, holistic relationship between personal and social change, structured modes of conflict resolution and creative nonviolent activism, careful analysis of structural violence and exploration of spiritual foundations for peaceable living and action.

Students in peace and conflict studies engage in critical analysis in several key components of the field: central concepts in peace research, the interrelation between the personal, local and global levels of conflict and possibilities of transforming conflict, theories of war and peace and methods and practices of conflict resolution, reduction and transformation. Students build skills that help them to solve problems of violence and conflict, to listen carefully and caringly to others in the midst of conflict and to contribute to organizing groups and actions concerned with social change and conflict resolution and transformation.

 

Degrees Offered

The Bachelor of Arts degree is offered in peace and conflict studies.

Specific Course Requirements


The major consists of a minimum of 32 credit hours (eight courses). Courses must include at least four courses at the 300-400 level and include:

    1.   PECS 110 Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
4 credits
 
2-4.  Three core courses from:
12 credits
 

         PECS 103 Voices of Liberation
 

         PECS 246 Mediation/Conflict Intervention
 

         PECS 315 Human Rights
 

         PECS 316 Globalization from an Ethical Perspective
 

         PECS 330 Nonviolence: Theories and Practice
 

         PECS/SOAN 345 Social Change: Promoting Peace
 

  5.   PECS 390 internship in the junior or senior year that builds on a student’s prior course work and incorporates peace and conflict studies analysis with site work            
4 credits
 
  6.   Peace and Conflict Studies Capstone Experience, (although a senior thesis or an independent study may be substituted in special circumstances);
4 credits
 

         PECS 405 Quakers, Community, Commitment
 

         PECS/SOAN 445 Culture, Conflict, Negotiation
 

         PECS 468 Religion, Spirituality, and Social Change
 

         PECS 450 Special Topics or 470 Senior Thesis or 490 Departmental Honors
 

7-8.  two or more additional courses (to complete 32 credit hours) selected from either additional Core Courses or approved Extra-Departmental Courses, which are offered by other departments and contribute to the Global, Social, or Personal/Interpersonal levels of peace and conflict analysis.

8 credits
   

Extra-Departmental Courses:

Global

          ECON 432 International Economics

          HIST 237 Europe in Revolution

          HIST 238 War & Peace in 20th Century Europe

          HIST 255 The Second World War

          PHIL 249 Pacifism and Just War Theory

          PSCI 103 International Relations

          PSCI 275 Asia and the World

          PSCI 345 Avoiding War, Making Peace

          PSCI 391 Globalization and Its Discontents

         SOAN 216 The Anthropology of Colonialism

         SOAN 425 Latin American Politics

Social

         HIST 225 African American History

         HIST 308 The Underground Railroad

         HIST 315 Civil Rights Movement

         JPS 220 Community Building Fundamentals

         SOAN 325 Understanding Poverty

Personal / Interpersonal

         JPS 244 Conflict Resolution Strategies

         JPS 424 Trust and Violence

         JPS 425 Family Violence

         SOAN 413 Gender Violence

 
Total credit hours required for A.B. degree in peace and conflict studies
32 credits

Internship

Internship. A peace and conflict studies internship involves practical experience that focuses on social change, nonviolent intervention, conflict resolution or transformation, and/or building a culture of peace. The internship includes critical reflection on the student's experience and analysis of activities, experiences, and structures that contribute to the reduction and transformation of violence and/or the maintenance of systems of violence and domination. Students should register for PECS 390 with the director of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Independent Studies and Senior Theses

If students have special interests that they wish to pursue that are not covered in peace and conflict studies courses, they may arrange an independent study with an interested faculty member or pursue a senior thesis. We recommend that independent studies be done in the junior or senior year.