Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies (PAX)

PAX TR100 | 100-LEVEL TRANSFER COURSE | 4-8 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

PAX TR300 | 300-LEVEL TRANSFER COURSE | 4-8 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

PAX 101 | EVERYDAY CONFLICT: ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, AND PRACTICES FOR MOVING FORWARD | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course investigates the types of conflict that we encounter throughout our everyday life--with friends, families, or co-workers. It begins with the thesis that not all conflict is immediately harmful, since some can become fruitful. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach to study the various sources of conflict value differences, personality styles, identity needs, etc. and viable strategies for approaching and even resolving them in a nonviolent way.

PAX 102 | CHICAGO AND STRATEGIC NONVIOLENCE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This introductory course explores active nonviolence as a multifaceted approach for challenging and overcoming violence without using violence in any of its manifestations, but particularly the forms of psychological, cultural, and structural violence that often undergird direct physical violence. The course investigates the many ways in which nonviolent approaches have been used strategically in Chicago by antiviolence organizations, religious institutions, and community development groups. The course will introduce some history and theory of active nonviolence and study two to three specific issues in Chicago.

PAX 112 | CHICAGO JUSTICE AND THE WORK FOR SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Using a multidisciplinary approach, this course investigates the variety of ways in which Chicago social and cultural changes result in a more just Chicago. The a city has many agents working through multiple approaches using the ideas and tools from many institutions, such as religious, artistic, and educational ones, as well as community development and advocacy groups, which work to reduce the impact of historical oppression on, e.g., education, housing, and health care access. The course will introduce some history and theory of social justice and study two to three specific issues in Chicago.

PAX 200 | COMMUNITIES WORKING FOR SUSTAINABLE JUSTICE AND PEACE: SERVICE IN CHICAGO AND THE U.S. | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The course introduces central concepts and strategies that can help U.S. society move toward sustainable justice and peace. A selection of issues relevant to students' service sites may include: a study of different forms of violence, such as structural and direct violence, an examination of nonviolent interventions for action and social change, and a recognition of the links with other parallel concerns (poverty, women's issues, social inequity). Students work 25 hours at community service organizations to provide a key learning resource.

PAX 201 | FRAMEWORKS FOR PEACE: PRACTICAL MODELS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An introductory course to positive models for building a peace culture, addressing structural conflicts and injustice, and discovering viable resolutions.

PAX 202 | ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE: PRACTICAL AND CREATIVE APPROACHES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An introduction to the practice of active nonviolence that investigates citizen diplomacy in the face of ongoing political conflict, the roles that individuals can take for intervening effectively in (especially) potentially harmful and violent situations, and the path to providing organizational support for all levels to learn strategies of active nonviolence, such as "Campaign Nonviolence.

PAX 206 | BOUNDARIES AND IDENTITIES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course explores how identity formation is shaped by cultural, historical, and political construction of barriers, borders, and boundaries, and how such formations are intertwined with ethnicity, race, nationality, gender and class. Cross-listed with INT 206 and GEO 206.

PAX 210 | INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND PEACEBUILDING | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This interdisciplinary course examines the basic questions of peace studies in different and "diverse" contexts, from personal relationships to societies and states, and addresses the consequences of conflict and conflict resolution in the contemporary world.

PAX 212 | SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An exploration of the mutual interdependence of social justice and non-violence, understanding it as a strategy for social change and a vision for social concord. Formerly PAX 230.

PAX 214 | CONFLICT: STORYTELLING, INTERVENTION, NEGOTIATION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An exploration of theories of conflict and the intervention methods for dealing with conflicts at the interpersonal and group levels.

PAX 218 | HUMAN RIGHTS: PROMISE AND PROBLEMATICS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will explore the historical origins, foundational principles, and socio-political efficacy of human rights discourse in contemporary international relations, domestic politics, and ethical thought. It consider issues such as the religious and/or secular foundation of human rights; their universality in relation to particular cultural customs and norms; the relative priority of individual and collective rights; and the legitimacy of international humanitarian intervention in sovereign nations.

PAX 220 | SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will look at the various ways in which people across the globe become engaged in social issues of importance, particularly those dealing with achieving justice and peace. Examples are human rights, environmental protection, labor issues, sustainable development alternatives, political representation, and gender issues.

PAX 225 | TRANSNATIONAL GRASSROOTS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an introductory course on that ways in which ordinary communities of people have promoted peace through nonviolent resistance and transnational connections. Each section of the course may take one specific situation of such collaborative efforts as the main case study or arena of action. Such situations will involve developing understandings of a history of the involvement of the United States with another country, whether through foreign aid or military interventions, and the efforts of citizens of both countries in working for a sustainable peace. The value of transnational solidarity and the complexities of power dynamics in both countries and between citizens will be studied. Formerly PAX 245.

PAX 228 | IDENTITY, PRIVILEGE, AND SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The course investigates the social impact stemming from disparities in social privilege and advantage. It asks which type of these help to achieve a true democracy and the equity of opportunity for that. It investigates those socially constructed disparities grounded in or producing failures in justice, yet existing as part of an institutional or structural background. Strategies for analyzing these in relation to social justice lead to discussions of the need for social change.

PAX 231 | ANALYZING POVERTY, ITS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course investigates a variety of viewpoints on the causes and effects of poverty. Poverty is a complex and multidimensional condition often difficult to measure, comprehend and change. It includes lack of or limited access to material needs (food, water, shelter, health care, etc.), social relations (participation, inclusion, rights, etc.), income and wealth (unemployment, resources, etc.) and moral, psychological, or spiritual well-being. This course reviews the current poverty debates from the economic, policy, social, political, cultural and moral perspectives that influence the implementation of poverty reduction programs.

PAX 235 | THE ETHICS OF POVERTY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course reviews the current poverty debates from the economic, policy, social, political, and cultural perspectives that influence the implementation of poverty reduction programs, in order to bring an ethical analysis to bear on the degree of moral responsibility that can be argued for when seeking appropriate solutions to global poverty. Several ethical frameworks will be consider, allowing students to learn the critical application of arguments and evidence to a seemingly intransigent phenomenon.

PAX 238 | TOPICS ON HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will investigate one topic touching on the intersections of those living in poverty and those living without a home, whether temporarily or chronically. It will locate its discussion by drawing on several disciplines, both in the humanities and the social sciences, that can contribute toward the chosen topic. It will evaluate both historical and recent interventions to address the unhoused and those living in poverty (such as housing first programs), in particular attending critically to the value issues that can underlie such interventions.

PAX 240 | VOICES OF WAR AND PEACE: ART, LITERATURE AND FILM | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an overview of the ways in which the arts, including literature and film, portray warfare and the attempts to end violence and build reconciliation and peace.

PAX 241 | HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE LENSES OF FILM AND OTHER ARTS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an overview of the ways in which the arts, including literature and film, portray situations in the United States and globally that limit human rights. Analyses of both the theoretical literature on human rights and the cinematic and other artistic attempts to capture both violations of human rights and the restoration and protection of these will be central to the course.

PAX 242 | PICTURES OF INJUSTICE: NARRATIVE ARTS IN SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will critically examine social justice themes in documentary and feature films in order to consider the role film and filmmaking can play in social justice movements. Together, we will carefully analyze a wide variety of films with the goal of critically examining their representations of race, gender, class and their depiction of agency of their subjects. We will also examine the storytelling and technical techniques used by filmmakers and how those techniques support the goals of filmmakers. Finally, we will examine case studies of activists who are using film and film-making as a part of movements for social justice. Students will leave this course with a better understanding of the ethics of filmmaking and the use of film in social movements. They will be more critical consumers of media and more familiar with a variety of social justice issues. Cross-listed with CPL 242.

PAX 243 | VISUALIZING POVERTY THROUGH FILM AND NARRATIVES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Poverty is a complex and multidimensional condition often difficult to measure, comprehend and change. The use of film, literature and other arts allow for those who do not directly experience poverty to develop an understanding through their empathic responses to persons living in poverty. The course will use the lenses of film and literary analysis to measure the success of those uses, in light of a critical analysis of the need to alleviate poverty and its effects.

PAX 244 | ARCHEOLOGY OF POWER: TESTIMONIES FROM FILM, LITERATURE, AND NARRATIVES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an overview of the ways in which the arts, including literature and film, portray power and its effects, particularly where these are unjust and oppressive. Different theories of power are investigated, so that students can begin a critical analysis of both the benefits and the limitations of the use of power and its effects on those using it well and abusing it. The ability of the arts to aid our understanding of power will be central to the course.

PAX 250 | TOPICS: TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE | 2 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

A workshop covering practical instruction in mediation, conflict resolution, peace circles, the arts, meditative practices, critical pedagogy, and other strategies and practices for promoting social change with active nonviolence.

PAX 251 | TOPICS: TOOLS TO SUPPORT JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND PEACEBUILDING | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

A course giving practical training, along with theoretical and historical background, for practices that enhance work on nonviolent strategies for social change.

PAX 252 | FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course combines the perspectives of religious studies and peace, justice, and conflict studies to examine forgiveness and reconciliation and their role in conflict resolution and the creation of just and peaceful societies. The course explores: 1) religious and psychological understandings of forgiveness and reconciliation; 2) religious methods and approaches to the pursuit of reconciliation between individuals and groups; 3) the role of forgiveness and reconciliation in conflict transformation and peacebuilding; and 4) applications of these concepts, methods, and approaches to case studies from around the world involving both personal and group dynamics. Cross-listed with REL 252.

PAX 253 | DESPAIR AND HOPE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course draws upon a variety of disciplines to examine despair and hope from theoretical and applied perspectives. The course explores religious and psychological understandings of despair and hope using a number of case studies, with particular attention to how despair and hope function in global crises, the Bible and theology, and nonviolent struggle. Cross-listed with REL 253.

PAX 255 | LOVE, HATE AND RECONCILIATION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Reconciliation between people when there is disagreement or other forms of conflict or violence is a crucial process to alleviate the negative side of conflict. Love and hate are two of the strongest emotions and consequently can generate conflict. A philosophical analysis of these aspects of human existence can uncover resources for creative approaches to the forms of peace-building that include reconciliation processes, as well as provide ethical arguments for their value.

PAX 256 | INNER PEACE: EXPERIENCE AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The idea of inner peace is a theme throughout the histories of many civilizations since recorded history. It provides a twin to the more obvious idea of outer peace, or peace in the environments surrounding us, whether the neighborhood, our tribes and social groups, our nation with other nations. This course will study theories of peace and how these correlate with the theme of "inner" peace. It will ask what practices have been used to promote or foster inner peace. It will bring a philosophical and critical lens to these theories and practices, whether they are found in religious texts, political understandings, personal narratives or fictional accounts, psychology, or phenomenological and other philosophical approaches to peace.

PAX 268 | DISABILITY JUSTICE STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course explores disability from an interdisciplinary perspective: first-person accounts, disability rights "theory," history, and institutional and legal frameworks. The course considers a number of related topics: What is disability? Is disability socially constructed? What history led to the disability rights movement? We will then turn to readings about power and control, oppression and freedom in relation to disabilities, as well as the challenges of identity, inclusion, and self-determination, and the wide variety of disabilities.

PAX 270 | PEACE MOVEMENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An exploration using the tools of both peace studies and historical studies to understand the different attempts to bring about a peaceful solution to a conflictual situation, whether this involves citizen refusal to accept a governmental stance (e.g., for military dictatorship, laws such as those for immigration) or actual aggressive events (international war, civil strife, oppressions through structural situations). The course will be comparative and interdisciplinary, but may focus on a single movement.

PAX 271 | GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This is a survey of global refugee crisis and internal displacement between 1945 and the present. The course will focus on the following issues and challenges: human rights, definitions and causes of crisis, internal/external displacements, 'environmental' refugees, protection and integration, refugee children, and conflict resolutions in post-war societies. Cross-listed with HST 241.

PAX 275 | MOVEMENTS FOR GENDER AND TRANS JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An exploration using the tools of both justice studies and historical studies to understand the different aspects to bring about changes in the lives of those affected by unjust social structures and persons acting to limit their freedom due to gender or transgender factors. The course will be comparative and interdisciplinary, but may focus on a single movement.

PAX 278 | DISABILITY JUSTICE, RIGHTS, AND POLICY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An exploration using the tools of both justice studies and historical studies to understand the different aspects to bring about changes in the lives of those affected by disabilities and the ways in which a culture and its laws and persons limit the freedom and basic rights of those living with disability. The course will be comparative and interdisciplinary, but may focus one or several aspects of the disabilities movement.

PAX 290 | TOPICS ON JUSTICE AND PEACE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

A topics course geared to introductory level discussions of the core elements of justice and peace-building as they occur in specific venues, such as religion.

PAX 299 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The student and faculty member will design a syllabus with readings and assignments appropriate for a lower division course in PJC.

Sophomore or above standing and at least one PAX course is a prerequisite for this class.

PAX 300 | TOPICS SEMINAR | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

A seminar on a key theoretical topic in the interdisciplinary fields covered by the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Program, using a variety of theoretical positions.

(Two from PAX 200, 210, 212, 214, 220) or permission of the Program Director is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 301 | THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF NONVIOLENT ACTION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will cover the basic theoretical groundwork on the practice of nonviolent action. As such, it will deal in depth with the subject matter of peace and justice making in the context of domestic and international conflict, specifically through a close reading and critical analysis of Gene Sharp's seminal The Politics of Nonviolent Action and other selected texts. Through this text, we will critically examine the philosophy and methods of nonviolent action, asking about their effectiveness and desirability in the context of real-world conflict situations, and analyzing their tactics as resources for thinking creatively about the practice of nonviolent action in the context of struggles for social change in the contemporary world.

One 200-level PAX course or instructor permission is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 303 | BORDER MATTERS: LITERATURE & CULTURE IN THE LATINO/A BORDERLANDS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

In this course, we will study the values and dynamic that is promoted in different Latino communities in the United States. In order to give context to the present situation of Latinos in the U.S. we will study some of the social issues in the countries of origin which have resulted in immigration and their encounter with borderlands. The notion of a Latina and Latino cultural "borderlands" has proven a ubiquitous and powerful conceptual paradigm in recent years, organizing distinct ethnic groups (Cuban American, Mexican American, Central American, Puerto Rican, etc.) according to the rubrics of pan-ethnic identity labels (Hispanic, Latina/Latino, etc.) and transnational geographies (Latin America, the Americas, etc.). This course will examine a wide range of Latino/a literary expressions produced in the Latina/Latino borderlands, particularly in areas of cultural contact and conflict. While the most obvious focus will be the Texas-Mexico border region, including ongoing efforts to establish the public meaning of the Alamo, additional borderlands, literal and figurative, will be considered. The Latina and Latino borderlands have also inspired critics and theorists to imagine postmodern, post-national subject formations, in which questions of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality are shifted from the margins to the center of critical discourse. We will therefore investigate the use and limits of recent "border theory". Cross-listed with LST 303.

PAX 304 | TOPICS IN MIGRATION AND FORCED MIGRATION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course examines the integral role that different processes of mobility play in shaping today's world: emigration, immigration, displacement, refugee and internally displaced persons flows. Students study the causes and effects of population movements including push-pull factors, demographic, economic, and political variables. Students also look at the role of state and non-state actors and organizations.

PAX 306 | GLOBAL EMPIRES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

In this course, students gain an acquaintance with theories of imperialism and post-colonial theory through historically situated studies. 'Power' serves as the generative concept for this course, to be understood as emergent at multi-scalar levels. Cross-listed with INT 306.

PAX 308 | NATURE, SOCIETY AND POWER | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of environmental issues pertinent to international studies. The reproduction of human societies occurs in a symbiotic relationship with the natural world, yet in the modern era nature has come to be increasingly conceptualized as a resource. This course explores the repercussions of this instrumental separation of nature from culture and society. Cross-listed with INT 308.

PAX 309 | CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The uneven integration of the world economy has been shaped by a succession of policies and theories of development, modernization, and globalization. This course investigates how these theories and policies have contributed to centrally organizing concepts such as poverty, inequality, growth, and progress, which have been instrumental in ordering contemporary societies. Cross-listed with INT 309.

PAX 312 | TRANSCENDING COEXISTENCE: TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND RECONCILIATION | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course looks at a number of post-conflict situations and draws on a multi-perspectival series of reports concerning the processes and outcomes of them. It considers several of these questions: What happens after a ceasefire? What signifies peace: the signing of a peace agreement, or a free and fair democratic election, or a long-awaited atmosphere of calm? How do complex processes of reconciliation involve tending to the individual and societal needs associated with the transition from chaos and conflict to a new, shared, post-conflict future. How might a society's search for the "truth," its public grappling with justice and forgiveness, and the possibilities of accountability, (re-)building trust, and restoring relationships fortify a post-conflict area against the recurrence of conflict as well as empower all concerned (oppressed and oppressors) to pursue a collaborative, just, and peaceful coexistence? Examining multiple case studies through the lenses of theory, best practices, and primary source transcripts and footage of Truth and Reconciliation Commission proceedings, the course explores the possibilities and challenges of reconciliation.

PAX 210 or instructor permission is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 313 | BEYOND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: THE EVOLUTION OF GRASSROOTS PEACEBUILDING | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course is an interdisciplinary inquiry that draws on learning from different disciplines as well as our experiences in service, activism, and other forms of civic engagement. Through readings, discussions, and research, students will deepen their capacity for critical inquiry and integrative analysis concerning the causes, sustaining factors, and possible resolutions of conflict, violence, and injustice. We will ask challenging questions about conflict resolution, investigate contemporary developments in grassroots peacebuilding, and assess the comparative advantages and distinct applications of various conflict resolution modalities.

PAX 210 or instructor permission is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 316 | TOPICS IN CRITICAL THEORY, PHILOSOPHY, POLICY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course investigates how critical political and social theories, philosophy, and policies have contributed to centrally organizing concepts such as poverty, inequality, growth, and progress, which have been instrumental in ordering contemporary societies.

PAX 320 | TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE: THEORY AND PRACTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course introduces students to transformative justice responses to violence that do not rely on state institutions. These include collective processes for support and healing, intervention, accountability, and prevention. The pedagogical praxis of learning will be through communal peacemaking circles and collective strategy sessions to create community responses to violence. Cross-listed with WGS 320.

PAX 321 | PRINCIPLES AND PRACTCES OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Together we will examine the principles of restorative justice in relation to a number of systems and sites of justice in contemporary society. The topics of our inquiries include: justice/injustice, peace, violence/non-violence, reconciliation, harm/accountability, traditional values and practices, rights, conflict, diversity, structural (social) inequality, and local-state-global initiatives. Importantly, we will practice peace circles throughout the semester as our mode of engagement in class.

PAX 330 | THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: ORIGINS AND CONTROVERSIES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This seminar will examine the intellectual origins and historical traditions of "human rights" that led to the formal development of the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights in 1948. While we will address 18th and 19th century influences on human rights thinking and practices, we will concentrate on 20th century contexts of two world wars, revolution, and genocide as they created the imperative for an agreed-upon international statement on human rights. The seminar will also examine the debates and negotiations among the authors of the Universal Declaration, the significance of the declaration during the cold war, and contemporary controversies about human rights in the post-9/11 world.

PAX 218 or permission of the instructor is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 331 | LIBERATION THEOLOGY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Liberation Theology focuses upon a radical movement for the transformation of Christianity that originated in the "Christian Base Communities" of Latin America and spread from there to North America and the Third World. Tested in the fires of civil wars in Central American and political repression in Brazil and other parts of Latin America in the 1970s and 80s, Liberation Theology today seeks to respond to the forces of globalization. Liberation theology and Christian base communities will be studied in comparison to other religious movements in Latin America such as Pentecostalism. This course is offered in conjunction with the Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies program, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program and the Catholic Studies Program. We will give special attention to the impact of the new global economic order on the poorest segments of Latin American societies and to the issue of global migration. Cross-listed with REL 351 and CTH 341.

PAX 340 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT: CHALLENGES AND INTERVENTIONS | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The course investigates the ways in which the differing relations among nation-states, global nongovernmental organizations, and other groups of human rights supporters function to deal effectively with human rights protections and violations that are increasingly transnational in strategies and outcomes.

PAX 218 or permission of the instructor is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 344 | TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course explores a specific topic in environmental justice, such as advocacy. For example, the roles of individuals and organizations in advocacy are discussed, particularly how power arrangements facilitate or impede consensus building, how legislation is written, and how this process impacts communities of color. Special attention is paid to advocacy techniques such as lobbying, movement-building, public education and litigation.

PAX 345 | WOMEN, WAR, AND RESISTANCE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course aims to make feminist sense of contemporary wars and conflicts. It analyzes the intersections between gender, race, class, and ethnicity in national conflicts. The class traces the gendered processes of defining citizenship, national identity and security, and examines the role of institutions like the military in the construction of femininity and masculinity. The course focuses on the gendered impact of war and conflict through examining torture, mass rape, genocide, and refugee displacement. It analyzes the strategies used by women's and feminist movements to oppose war and conflict, and the gendered impact of war prevention, peacekeeping, and post-war reconstruction. The class draws on cases from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa. The class is interdisciplinary and gives equal weight to theory and practice while drawing on writings by local and global activists and theorists. Cross-listed with WGS 345.

PAX 348 | INDIGENOUS POLITICAL STRUGGLES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course explores the struggles for social justice and the right to have rights by indigenous peoples. It emphasizes contemporary cases and the cultural contexts in which indigenous political strategies have developed and transformed. It uses historical data to understand the issues faced by indigenous peoples. Students conduct research on indigenous struggles and their connections to other social movements at the local, national, and international levels. Cross-listed with LST 348.

PAX 350 | CAPSTONE IN PEACE, JUSTICE & CONFLICT STUDIES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

An integrative seminar drawing together students' theoretical work and hands-on expertise.

Three 200-level PAX courses or instructor permission is a prerequisite for this course.

PAX 351 | GEOGRAPHY, FOOD AND JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

While the need for food is universal, geographies of food production, distribution and consumption are anything but even. This leads to multiple issues of food injustice at a variety of scales. This course critically examines the contemporary global food system with the goal of providing students with skills and knowledge to engage in food justice activism. Students study the development of food systems and how inequalities have emerged in production, distribution and consumption. The course then explores food justice movements including the emergence of alternative food networks in the U.S and internationally. Assignments may engage students in local food projects and or/advocacy campaigns. Cross-listed with GEO 351 and INT 329.

PAX 360 | TOPICS IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

A survey of the problem of endemic poverty in the Third World, together with a consideration of the various forms of public action designed to alleviate poverty. Considerable attention will be paid to the problems of rural poverty and the pitfalls and possibilities of industrialization.

PAX 362 | LANGUAGE AND THE POLITICS OF TERROR | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

Politics is, among other things, the arena in which human bodies are broken. This course will concern itself with the breaking of human bodies through torture, genocide, war and poverty. Throughout, a focus will be maintained on the interface between bodies and language, on how bodies placed under extremes of pain and degradation lose their capacity for speech, and how language reaches its intrinsic limits in trying to represent bodies in pain. Cross-listed with INT 362.

PAX 364 | POLITICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY: TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST TALES OF HEALING AND RESISTANCE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This class explores the interplay of political, social, economic and aesthetic factors in feminist autobiography from a transnational perspective. We examine the ways that women's autobiography is being used to write themselves into history. Story is integral in the process of healing and building solidarity and coalitions for gender based organizing. Further, autobiography creates a space for the "alter-history" to be told: the absence of testimony and experience is created for others to gain hope, strength, and deeper understanding of others and themselves. Various forms and critiques of feminist autobiographies are explored, and how each impacts the political possibilities for readers. Cross-listed with WGS 364.

PAX 365 | TOPICS IN WAR AND PEACE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This course will deal with one of many ways to discuss the large-scale conflict that is war and the different methods to prevent, delay, and conclude such conflicts, in order to have peace. Cross-listed with INT 365.

PAX 372 | TRAUMA, ART & RESILIENCE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

The goal of recovery from trauma response engages the natural resilience of individuals through a multimodal healing process that often engages in arts activities, both individually or through community efforts. This course will study recent theories on the biological, psychological, and social-cultural components of how human respond to extreme difficulties, whether natural disaster or accidents, or an ongoing environment of oppression, marginalization, and poverty. It will then enlist students in some of the modalities for resilience training that have been proven highly effective in multiple settings.

PAX 373 | LITERATURE OF WAR IN THE 20TH CENTURY | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

For as long as there has been recorded history, there have been war...and literature of wars. Though a good deal of this literature has lauded the exploits and heroicism of individual warriors, much has also described the deprivations and destructiveness of war itself. The 20th century was one of the most violent epochs in world history and generated a rich literature of war, both starkly realistic and imaginatively symbolic. This course will examine the literature of war in the 20th century, beginning with the First World War, then touching on the Second World and Cold wars, as well as wars of repression and national liberation. We will explore memoirs, novels, short stories, poetry, and films of these conflicts to gain a deeper understanding of "the pity of war.

PAX 380 | TOPICS IN NONVIOLENCE | 4 quarter hours

(Undergraduate)

This advanced seminar will review historical, philosophical, and practical approaches to the use of nonviolence for addressing injustice and conflicts, including violent ones, as well as for enhancing life.