The undergraduate interdisciplinary Minor in Peace & Conflict Studies is offered in partnership with The International Institute for Peace.
The Minor in Peace & Conflict Studies is a flexible program designed to complement any undergraduate major. It provides an interdisciplinary structure for examining issues of peace and conflict—from interpersonal to international.
The minor is designed to offer a unique and challenging course of study that draws on perspectives from anthropology, political science, psychology, and sociology. It encourages students to think critically about violence, its causes, and consequences, both at home and abroad. Violence is defined in terms of overt manifestations—such as domestic violence, gang violence, police brutality, human rights abuses, genocide, and war—as well as the structural violence of social inequalities that prevent people from meeting their basic needs. The program encourages students to understand how acute conflicts can be waged through methods of nonviolent action and the necessary conditions for a just and sustainable peace.
Students completing a Minor in Peace & Conflict Studies will gain in-depth knowledge of: (1) forms of conflict and violence, (2) psychological, political, cultural and structural bases of conflict, (3) historical and ongoing conflicts, and (4) conflict resolution and nonviolent strategies for conflict transformation. The minor will also facilitate the students’ ability to identify alternatives to violence and encourage student’s awareness, responsibility, and active engagement in public and global affairs.
Requirements:
A total of eighteen credits are required which must come from at least two disciplines. Courses counted towards meeting the requirements of a student’s major cannot also count toward the minor. Relevant courses not listed below may count towards the elective requirement with the approval of the director of the program.
Anthropology
21&62:070:306 Anthropology of Power (3)
21&62:070:314 Topics in Anthropology: Politics of Extinction (3)
21&62:070:320 Human Rights in a Global World (3)
21&62:070:321 Genocide (3)
21&62:070:324 Human Rights: Theory Into Practice (1)
21&62:070:325 Human Rights: Applied (1)
21&62:070:337 Anthropology of Inequality (3)
21&62:070:390 Culture, Political Violence, & Genocide (3)
21&62:070:420 War (3)
Political Science
21&62:790:460 Topics: Gender, Peace & the Environment (3)
21&62:790:460 Topics: Nationalism, Revolution, & War (3)
21&62:790:463 Topics: Social Movements in American Politics (3)
21&62:790:466 Topics: The Causes of War (3)
Psychology
21&62:830:417 Theories of Interpersonal & Social Conflict (3)
Sociology
21&62:920:307 Social Protest & Revolution (3)
21&62:920:308 Social Movements (3)
21&62:920:346 Political Sociology (3)
21&62:920:380 Civil Conflict & Violence (3)
21&62:920:390 Sociology of Peace & Conflict (3)
For additional information on the minor, please contact Professor Kurt Schock.