Course Offerings Fall 2006

PCST 111: Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies (SSL)

01A    Dr. Ron Pagnucco
         1-3-5, 11:20-12:30, HAB-128A

02A    Kelly Kraemer
         2-4-6, 11:20am-12:30pm, HAB-102B

Examination of the field of conflict (e.g., between individuals, groups and societies, within and between nations), the relationship of the roots of conflict to social concepts of gender, and the resolution of conflict through such methods as direct action, mediation, arbitration, removal of the sources of conflict through economic, social and political development. Study of examples in historical context. Fall and spring.

PCST 345A: Literature of Conflict

Dr. Rene McGraw, OSB
2-4-6, 11:20-12:30, Quad 361

We all seem fixed in what seems real to us in our world.  Is it possible for art—music, literature, sculpture, painting, photography, cinema—to shift our gaze, to see what we have not before seen?  Even if art shifts our gaze, can it have a lasting effect on the way that we live in a world of conflict?  Does art look to make people change their lives or only to let us see what we had not before seen?  Or is it mainly concerned to prevent us from forgetting what we have once seen?  Are the arts able to help us live more peacefully in a world of violence?  The philosophical text for this course will be mainly Martin Heidegger’s Origin of the Work of Art.  This text will be joined to poetry and novels and other forms of artistic expression. 

PCST351: Women and Peace (GN)

Dr. Kelly Kraemer
1-3-5, 11:20-12:30, HAB120

This course will explore the connections between gender and peace in theory and in practice, with a special focus on the traditions of women's peace activism. We will study theories relating gendered notions of human nature to violence and peace, to militarism (and other forms of institutionalized violence) and to violence against women. We will also examine the relationships between motherhood (and fatherhood) and peace, along with connections between feminism and nonviolence. Finally, we will explore the reasons for women-only and women-centered peace groups and movements; the history of women's peace movements in the U.S. and around the world; and the links between women's peace movements, women's rights movements, men's movements, and other movements for social justice.

PCST 368: Religion, Society & Politics (JC)

Dr. Ron Pagnucco
1-3-5, 2:40-3:50, HAB003

Recent developments in the United States and other parts of the world have led observers to look closely at religious groups’ beliefs and activities concerning the state, society and sociopolitical issues like cultural diversity and war and peace. In this course we will examine the Judeo-Christian tradition and address such questions as: What is the relationship between religion and ethnicity and religion and nationalism? What is religious fundamentalism? How do various groups view their relationship with the state and the broader society? What kinds of social and political goals do religious groups have and how do they try and achieve them? We will try to answer these and other questions through the study of historical and sociological case studies and selected religious texts reflecting the range of belief and practice in the Judeo-Christian tradition.