PEAC 200

Introduction to Peace Studies

1. Catalog Entry

PEAC 200
Introduction to Peace Studies

Credit hours (3)

Overview of the main issues and various disciplinary approaches to the study of conflict, conflict
management, and world security; introduction to alternative paradigms for conflict management and
resolution; introduction to a variety of world order systems.

Note(s): This course has been approved for Core Curriculum credit in Global Perspectives.

2. Detailed Description of Course

Through examining a number major issues associated with the discipline of peace studies, this
course introduces students both to the important contemporary discipline of peace studies and to the
major international and global issues associated with the human quest for a more just and peaceful
world order. Through studying the central international and global issues confronting humankind in
the 21st century, students learn to engage in careful and sustained reflection on some of the major
problems confronting humankind today, as well as on the issues of conflict management at the
international level, and, finally, on their personal roles and responsibilities as world citizens.

Since this course is inherently interdisciplinary and will involve a variety of primary teachers as well
as guest speakers, content and emphasis may vary. However, the primary content of the course can
be described as follows:
The course involves an introduction to the discipline of peace and world security studies, including
the essential distinctions and concepts which have developed within the discipline during the past 40
years: such as positive versus negative conceptions of peace, global versus international issues,
alternative conceptions violence and nonviolence, need for awareness of the global diversity of
cultures and perspectives, and the general scope of the issues considered within this field.
 The course also provides an introduction to the major global problems and the interrelationships
among these problems that confront humankind in the 21 st century and bear on the issues of
international world order, conflict management, peace, and security. Major issues examined include
the global population explosion, global environmental decline, global militarism and arms races,
global violence in its various forms, global poverty, global cultural, religious and ethnic conflicts, and
global social instability.
The overall framework for the course, which integrates the above two items, involves an
introduction to the following components in the systematic study of peace:
(a) The analysis of violent and threatening conflict, and other forms of violence, including the
possibility of nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare, in and among contemporary states and
societies;
(b) The delineation of proposals and attempts to introduce more equitable, harmonious, and non-
violent societies and international mechanisms for world security and order. In this regard the course
provides an introduction to a variety of alternative paradigms for world order and conflict
management as well as the international social movements or institutions representing these
alternatives. These paradigms include social movements or institutions premised on the following
ideas: the Gandhi-King paradigm of developing the culture, influence, and orientation of nonviolence;
the global civil society paradigm focusing on the development of international understanding,
communications, and institutions; the civilian based defense paradigm focusing on the development
of non-military means of enhancing world security; the regionalist paradigm promoting economic and
political interdependence among nations and regions; the UN paradigm promoting the enhancement
and evolution of the United Nations and its mechanisms f or international order; and the federalist
paradigm promoting federal, democratic world government;
(c) The analysis of the methods of constructive and nonviolent group and individual action (taking
into account cultural similarities and diversities) to transform unjust, violent, or oppressive situations,
or to manage conflict, and the conditions for the success of such activities, and, finally;
(d) The role of social transformation and the development of sustainable, well-formed institutions
in preventing outbreaks of destructive violence and removing the causes of such outbreaks.
Individual students or group projects may choose to focus on specific aspects of the course for
term papers or research projects, for example:
(a) Specific international ethnic, cultural, or religious conflicts and their potential solutions or
management,
(b) The more general role of cultural diversity with its effect on perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors
as this affects issues of conflict management and world security,
(c) National or international military, economic, or political conflicts and their potential solutions or
management,
(d) Global problems or international issues such as poverty, environmental decline or population
growth and their potential solutions or management.

By thinking about the issues raised in this course in a systematic way, students will gain not only a
basic understanding of the problems of international world order, conflict management, peace, and
security but also an enhanced understanding of the human situation itself as we enter the 21st
century, a sense of how these problems are directly relevant to our lives today, and a sense of their
role and responsibility as thoughtful, critically educated human beings in assuming international
citizenship.

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

This course necessarily involves a combination of lecture, discussion, and direct student
involvement. In addition to guest speakers and discussions with guest speakers, it will involve
students in small group and open class discussion and in a variety of formal and informal writing
activities. Because this course is taught by different primary instructors in different semesters, and
emphasizes collaborative faculty teaching of the course, the specific format may vary, but in every
case the course will involve a plurality of instructional strategies designed to engage students in the
doing, thinking, and living of peace work, as potential international citizens, not just learning about it.

Whether or not a formal research paper is assigned in the class, students will be expected to employ
basic research skills, including the use of computer technology, to investigate and gather information
on various topics and figures discussed in class. Among the teaching activities students can expect
in this course are the following:
Lecture and discussion led by the instructor
Small group discussion
In-class formal or informal debates
Individual and group oral presentations
Informal in-class and out-of-class writing assignments
Journals
Individual and collaborative research activities involving library and Internet searches
Active engagement with email and world wide web communications
Written and oral analysis of texts
Written summaries/ evaluations of out-of-class events
A choice of service learning options.
Guest lectures, films, and videotapes.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
4. Goals and Objectives of the Course

Course specific goals and objectives are the following. Upon successful completion of this course,
students should be able to demonstrate:
A basic understanding of the nature and methods of peace and world security studies as an
interdisciplinary field,
A basic knowledge of some of the most important issues and distinctions used within contemporary
peace studies,
An overview of the main components in the systematic study of world order, peace and security
and the issues addressed within each component,
A basic understanding of the range of global problems and international issues facing humankind in
the 21 st century,
An awareness of the dynamics and complexity of the international world and the need for sensitivity
to the diversity of cultures, thoughtfulness, and understanding when dealing with international
problems, and
An appreciation of the relevance that peace studies as critical reflection on some of the most
fundamental issues of our contemporary world has in their own lives.
Through a guided research project in connection with some particular issue in the area of peace
studies, students will learn to employ basic research skills, including the use of computer technology,
to investigate and gather information on various topics and figures discussed in class.

Broad General Education Goals

As part of the General Education program, this course is designed to help students achieve a
number of broad learning goals in addition to the course-specific goals identified above. Upon
successful completion of this course, students should have learned or mastered basic abilities in the
following areas:
Through critical examination and discussion of key texts and ideas central to peace studies,
students will learn to think critically and creatively about the ideas, issues and problems encountered
in the course.
Similarly, through careful study of arguments used by proponents of the various peace and world
order paradigms, students will learn to identify and analyze logical arguments in the texts used in
this course, and construct logical and persuasive arguments in relation to the subject matter of the
course.
Though the emphasis on discussion, dialogue, and groups learning basic to this course, students
will learn to work cooperatively with others in small group discussions, research projects,
presentations, or service learning situations.
Through the reflection on a variety of cultural and intellectual perspectives that is basic to the study
of peace and security, students should be able to identify personal and cultural assumptions and
values underlying the views presented in the texts, by guest speakers, and by classmates.

Goals for General Education Area Five International and Intercultural Studies

In addition to the course-specific goals and the broad General Education learning goals indicated
above, this course is intended to help students achieve a number of learning objectives in the
International and Intercultural Area of the General Education program. In particular, upon successful
completion of this course students should be able to:
Demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of cultures both within and beyond the United States.
Under this goal, this course identifies and analyzes the variety of international actors, cultures, and
forces that must be considered by thoughtful persons confronting contemporary issues of world
order, conflict management, peace, and security, and that highlight the relationships among peoples
and nations. It also identifies and discusses important global issues that highlight the relationships
among peoples and nations with respect to issues of peace, conflict management and world
security.
Analyze similarities and differences between their own and other cultures that affect perceptions,
beliefs, and behaviors. Under this goal, this course expects students to demonstrate an awareness
of the complexity, diversity, and interdependence of cultures, nations, social forces and international
issues comprising the world of the 20th and 21st centuries. It also helps students identify and
analyze the similarities and differences between their own and other cultures that affect perceptions,
beliefs, and behaviors with respect to peace, conflict, and the range of fundamental global and
international problems.
Demonstrate an understanding of the central place of language in shaping thinking, values, and
other aspects of culture. Depending on where students choose to focus for research or group
projects, each student should also be able to demonstrate a more detailed knowledge of some area
of international focus, including the significance of language in shaping thinking, values, or other
aspects of the particular culture which is their area of focus. For example:
(a) Particular ethnic, cultural, or religious conflicts and their potential solutions or management,
(b) The general role of cultural diversity in relation to problems of conflict management and world
order,
(c) National or international military, economic, or political conflicts and their potential solutions or
management, or
(d) Specific global problems or international issues and their potential solutions or management.
Many of these foci help develop an understanding of the central place of language in shaping
thinking, values, and culture.
Identify and discuss important global issues that highlight the relationships among peoples and
nations. Under this goal, this course expects students to be able to discuss in speech and writing the
main options available to humanity in moving the world towards greater peace and security and
assess the central difficulties and potentialities within each option, relying on their understanding of
the diversity of world cultures to enhance the discussion. It also expects students to be able to
discuss in speech and writing the notion of international citizenship and the kinds of roles,
responsibilities and options that such citizenship entails, including sensitivity to the similarities and
differences between their own and other cultures that affect perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors.

Assessment Measures

Student progress in achieving the course-specific objectives and the General Education goals
established for this course will be measured in a variety of ways. Because this course is taught by
several instructors, the specific assessment instruments employed may vary, but in every case the
instructor will employ a number of the following methods to evaluate aspects of student learning:
Graded and ungraded homework assignments may be used to measure the students ability to
read texts carefully, to identify underlying values and assumptions, to articulate central concepts, to
analyze and construct arguments, to understand alternative points of view, and to employ basic
research methods.
Journals may be used to measure the development of self-understanding vis-a-vis other cultures,
nations, or perspectives and progress in critical and creative thinking about the ideas, issues, and
texts of the course.
Class discussions, debates, and small group discussion may be used to measure the students
reasoning and oral communication skills as well as the students ability to work with others in a
shared process of inquiry.
Individual and group oral presentations may be used to measure the students understanding of
particular paradigms, positions or issues as well as the students ability to present persuasive
arguments and alternative points of view.
Quizzes and objective tests may be used to measure the students basic knowledge of the course
material and the students ability to read carefully and think with clarity.
Essay exams may be used to measure the students understanding of the nature and methods of
peace studies, knowledge of the course material, ability to analyze and comprehend perspectives,
and ability to think and to write with clarity.
Research reports may be used to measure the students ability to employ appropriate research
methods and technologies.
The results of internet and World Wide Web searches, or email communications, may be used to
measure the students ability to use the web effectively to gather ideas and information relevant to a
specific topic or research project.
Term papers may be used to measure the students understanding of the nature of peace and
world security studies and knowledge of specific texts, perspectives or issues addressed in the
course, as well as to measure the students ability to articulate a sustained and persuasive
argument, to think and write with clarity, and to demonstrate an appreciation of the significance of
peace studies and international issues to his or her own life and concerns.