Peace and Justice Studies Minor

Contact: John Kiess, Associate Professor of Theology; Director of Office of Peace and Justice

Office: Humanities Center, Room 042L

Telephone: 410-617-2811

Website: www.loyola.edu/academics/peace-and-justice

Peace and Justice Studies explores the causes and consequences of violence, the systematic sources of injustice, and the inter-relationship of justice and peace. Students have the opportunity to analyze concrete cases of conflict, identify and evaluate mechanisms for resolving violent conflict, and consider the norms, practices, and institutions for building and sustaining peace using a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including politics, sociology, theology, philosophy, and literary. The interdisciplinary minor in Peace and Justice Studies provides students with the opportunity to develop a number of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and justice advocacy skills and apply them in interpersonal, institutional, societal, or global contexts. Those who successfully complete the minor will be able to make meaningful connections across courses and develop a coherent framework for thinking about the interrelationship of peace and justice. In the process, students will come to a deeper appreciation of Loyola's social justice mission, develop their capacity to act as agents of positive change, and learn how to respond to the great moral issues of our time, including poverty, racism, genocide, war, and peace.

Requirements for the Minor

The requirements for the minor are as follows:

Five electives (15 credits)
Capstone project (3 credits; TH 401 )

Students must satisfy the electives requirement in at least three different academic disciplines, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Two of these electives must be at the 300-level or above. Students may fulfill parts of the electives requirement through an equivalent study-abroad course, but only with the approval of the minor director. In some cases, a new course that is not on the electives list may be used to satisfy the elective requirement, but only with the approval of the director.

The capstone requirement provides students with an opportunity to revisit the question of the interrelationship of peace and justice. While the capstone project can take various forms depending on the needs and the desires of the student and the faculty member working with the student, it is anchored in three guiding principles: integrative (i.e., of the courses taken in the minor); reflective; and with an action component connected to the real world (e.g., service/internship, producing an independent research paper or creative project, and/or developing one's capacity to act as an agent of positive change).

Ordinarily, students fulfill the capstone requirement by registering for a Peace and Justice capstone course during their senior year. In the event that a capstone seminar is not offered, students may register for an additional 300- or 400-level elective course and work with the course instructor to ensure that the written assignments fulfill the requirements of the capstone project. If a student is unable to find a suitable elective, they may register for a mentored capstone study with a Peace and Justice faculty member. In consultation with the director, students choose a course of action no later than the spring semester of their junior year. While the precise form that the capstone project takes is flexible, options include: (1) an internship, ongoing service, or some service project through CCSJ, with active reflection or (2) an independent research paper or creative project (e.g., work of art, poetry, literature, or theatrical design) that the student is encouraged to submit to the Undergraduate Student Research and Scholarship Colloquium or elsewhere.

Electives

Notes:

The PT 270 or PT 300 prerequisite for PT 381 may be waived with written permission of the instructor.
The SC 202 prerequisite for SC 339 and SC 376 may be waived with written permission of the sociology department chair.