Peace Studies

Annual Peace Studies Conferences

Fall 2023:

The Environment: Issues in Justice, Conflict, and Peacebuilding: A Conference in Honor of the Late Fr. Rene McGraw

September 18, 2023
1:00-4:30 P.M. in 204 A/B Gorecki (CSB)

1:00-1:55: "Environmental Peacebuilding: Yesterday, Today. and Tomorrow."

Opening Words by CSB+SJU President Brian Bruess.

Welcome and Introduction by Dr. Jon Armajani, Department of Peace Studies Faculty.

Opening Keynote by Dr. Ken Conca, American University: "Environmental Peacebuilding: Yesterday, Today. and Tomorrow."

2:10-3:05: Panel: Religion & the Environment

Moderator: Dr. Jon Armajani, Department of Peace Studies

Abbot John Klassen, St. John's Monastery: "Benedictinism and the Environment."

Dr. Jon Armajani, Department of Peace Studies: "Islam and the Environment."

3:20-4:15: Panel: Environmental Justice

Moderator: Dr. Theodor Gordon, CSB+SJU Director, Initiative for Native Nation Relation

Dr. Derek Larson, Department of Environmental Studies: "Global Environmental Justice."

Angel Stevens. The Giniw Collective and The Niibi Center for the Rights of Nature. Environmental Justice in the US.

Co-sponsored by the CSB+SJU Department of Peace Studies, the CSB+SJU Department of Environmental Studies, Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, and Welcome Fest.

*CSB+SJU is on the original homeland of the Dakhóta and Anishinaabe peoples. We honor and respect the Indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed from and who are still connected to this territory.<https://usdac.us/nativeland

Climate Change, Health, and Equity

October 16, 2023
7:00-8:15 p.m. in the Pellegrene Auditorium (SJU)

Dr. Cheryl Holder, MD will provide the closing keynote portion of the CSB+SJU annual peace studies conference. Dr. Cheryl L. Holder, a graduate of Princeton University and George Washington University School of Medicine, a National Health Service Corp Scholar, Internist, and HIV Specialist served as Medical Director of one of Miami’s largest community health centers and on NIH and CDC health advisory and programmatic review panels. She dedicated her career to improving health of underserved populations.

In 2009, she joined Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine’ faculty, where she taught about the social determinants of health, diversity, and the health impact of climate change. She retired 12/31/22, as the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Community Initiatives.  

Her leadership roles include organizations such as president of Florida State Medical Association, Founder and Co-Chair of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action and Co-chair of Miami Dade Heat Health Task Force. Her TED Talk “The link between climate change, health and poverty” garnered over 300,000 views 

Ted Talk

Past Conferences

Fall 2022

Partnership Equity
September 13, 2022

Fall 2019

Fall 2018
Religion, Politics, and Peacemaking
October 29, 2018

Fall 2017
Moving Beyond Stereotypes: The Somali Community in Minnesota
September 12, 2017

Fall 2016
Toward the Beloved Community: Ending Racial Disparities in Health
September 22, 2016

Fall 2015
Restorative Justice, Peacebuilding & the Use of Circles in Minnesota's Schools & Communities
September 14 & 15, 2015

Fall 2014
Lighting the Darkness: Exploring Alternatives to Violence
September 17, 2014

Fall 2013
Acting on Faith: Nonviolence and the Struggle for Interracial Justice, Then and Now
October 14, 2013

Fall 2012
Challenges Facing Africans Today
September 17, 2012

Fall 2011
Toward a More Sociable World: The Struggle Against the Death Penalty and the Legitimation of Violence
September 19, 2011

Fall 2010
Justice, Peace, and Environmental Sustainability
September 27-27, 2010

Fall 2009
Have we Overcome? Race and Racism in the Age of Obama
September 28, 2009

Fall 2008
Educating for Peace and Justice: From Minneapolis-St. Paul to Johannesburg.
September 22, 2008

Fall 2007
A Conference Exploring the Connections Between Peace and the Fine Arts.
September 17, 2007

Fall 2006
Islam and Peace: Exploring peace, war, nonviolence, and peacebuilding in the Islamic tradition.
September 18, 2006

Fall 2005
Against Forgetting: The Legacy of the Vietnam War for People and Politics
September 26, 2005

Fall 2004
The Peaceful Sex? Women and Peace in the 21st Century
September 20, 2004

Fall 2003
A Call to Build Peace and Justice
September 29, 2003

January 2003
Through the Eyes of a Child: War, Peace, and Reconciliation
January 21, 2003

Fall 2001
Democracy, Development and Human Rights in Kenya
September 24, 2001

Fall 2000
Healing Hands: Medicine and the Quest for Peace and Justice
September 24, 2000

Fall 1999
Nowhere Else to Go: Local, Regional, and Global Dimensions of Homelessness
October 19, 1999

Fall 1998
"Media and Violence" - Dr. Joanne Cantor and Colman McCarthy
October 5, 1998

Fall 1997
"Crime and Punishment: Retribution or Redemption" Kenneth Schoen and Dr. Donald Cabana
October 6, 1997

Fall 1996
"From Rage to Renewal:  Seeking Urban Peace" Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin and Fr. Gregory Boyle
October 7, 1996

Fall 1995
"United Nations: The Past and Future" Dr. Hrach Gregorian
September 25, 1995

Fall 1994
"Africa" Professor Ron Walters and Mahmoud El-Kati
October 17, 1994

Fall 1993
"Women and Development" V. Spike Peterson and Vanessa Castro
September 27, 1993

Fall 1992
"Order and Disorder: Implications for Violence and Nonviolence" Dr. Richard Falk
September 28, 1992

Spring 1992
"Environmental Dimensions of the Arms Race and Disarmament" Michael Renner
April 4, 1992

34th Annual Peace Studies Conference

The Peace Studies department, Environmental Studies, Jay Phillip Center for Interfaith Learning, and Welcome Fest are pleased to announce the 34th annual Peace Studies Conference.

The Environment: Issues in Justice, Conflict, and Peacebuilding

Monday, September 18, 2023

Conference Details
College of Saint Benedict
Saint John’s University

Jeffrey Anderson 
Peace Studies Department Chair
SJU Simons 122
320-363-3047

Brandie White
Department Coordinator
SJU Quad 355A
320-363-3552