About
Students, faculty and staff at St. Mike’s share a serious commitment to social justice and service to others. Many students decide they want to make our award-winning MOVE volunteer programs central to their student experience here. A Peace and Justice minor complements that inclination through classroom studies. The minor ignites greater awareness and action among students of all spiritual and cultural backgrounds but also gets to the heart of this college’s mission “to enhance human dignity and human culture in light of the Catholic faith”.
A commitment to service is prominent in the tradition of the Edmundite priests who founded our college. Love of God and neighbor is at the root of this tradition, and the parable of the Good Samaritan suggests that the people whose needs we can serve are indeed our neighbors. Service is based fundamentally on an acceptance of social responsibility not only for other individuals but also for our community and society. An understanding of how you might fulfill this responsibility in today’s world is an important objective of your Saint Michael’s education. We see an important two-way relationship between service and learning, and this minor directly cultivates that.
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Curriculum
Course Offerings
Required Courses:
PJ 101 – Approaches to Peace
RS 236 – Christian Social Ethics
Elective from PJ approved list (any level)
Elective from PJ approved list (300 or 400 level)
PJ 410 – Advanced Integrations
Or
PJ 499 – Peace and Justice Internship Credits: Variable
Approved Electives:
AN 217 – Social Inequalities
AN 333 – Anthropology of Refugees
AN 355 – Anthropology of International Development
EC 321 – Economics of Development and Poverty
EN 375 – The Middle Passage
ES 306 – Environmental Justice
ES 320 – Environmental Conflict Resolution
FR 297 – Voices of Resistance in the Francophone World
GL 340 – Preparation for International Service
And
GL 341 – A Study in Solidarity: Guyana
HI 338 – Tiananmen in History and Memory
HI 363 – Race, Class, and Gender in the Atlantic World
HI 414 – African Slavery in the Atlantic World
PH 351 – Otherness and Marginalization: Levinas and the Alienated
PH 352 – Feminist Philosophy
PH 354 – Philosophy of Human Rights
PJ 205 – Theories of Conflict Resolution
PJ 499 – Peace and Justice Internship Credits: Variable
PO 292 – Global LGBTQI + Politics and Culture
PO 340 – Social Movements and Contentious Politics
PO 350 – State Violence and Justice
PO 351 – Politics of the Global AIDS Pandemic
PO 355 – Politics of the World Economy
PO 371 – Feminist Political Thought
PO 390 – Comparative Politics of Oppression
RS 239 – Religion, Ecology and Ethics
SO 107 – Social Problems
SO 221 – Race and Ethnic Relations
SO 318 – Restorative Justice
Faculty
Political Science and International Relations
Patricia Siplon
Professor of Political Science, Director of Public Health
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Religious Studies
Raymond Patterson
Religious Studies Department Chair, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
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Philosophy
Katherine Kirby, PhD
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Global Studies
Read moreIn Depth
Your first course as a Peace and Justice minor, “Approaches to Peace,” introduces you to the issues involved in challenging human society’s acceptance of war and in working toward a new way of thinking about peace and social justice. Course discussions focus on the roots and causes of war; methods of conflict resolution and arms reduction; eliminating structural violence; religious inspiration for peace-making; and non-violence as a method and way of life. You’ll also take Christian Social Ethics, an examination of the interactions of Christianity with various social systems, resources of Christianity for social justice, and critical and constructive views of Christianity in the modern world.
Other courses you can choose among for the minor are in the Religious Studies, Political Science or Philosophy Departments and deal with issues like human rights, European political thought, “Work, Capital and God,” the politics of global AIDS, the politics of world economy and “Otherness and Marginalization” based on thoughts of a the French philosopher Levinas.
The program on Peace and Justice engages the mission of the Society of Saint Edmund to understand and solve global problems. It is an interdisciplinary program drawing on the strength of college faculty in areas such as international relations, ethics and values, social analysis, community service, human rights and social responsibility. Although the program’s objectives include teaching about avoiding war and resolving conflicts, the fundamental goal is to understand the structural injustices that cause war and violence and to alter them so as to realize positive peace.
Special Opportunites
The minor is strongly linked to the Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice on Campus, and working for the center is a great opportunity for students in the program
Many of our students become involved either the Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) on campus, which helps others in the local community and also on service trips in the U.S. and abroad.
Campus Ministry, the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) and such interest groups on campus are other ways to act on what you learn in program classes.
Careers
Students with a Peace and Justice minor often are motivated to have careers with nonprofit or government agencies whose missions pursue peace and justice around the world, or with various religious-based ministries. Having this minor on your resume along with a business background makes you an asset in the growing realm of socially responsible businesses. You’ll also be better equipped to make a meaningful difference in politics if that feels like your calling.
Justice and Peace Studies have grown exponentially in the last 20 years. The first undergraduate program in Peace Studies was formed 50 years ago at Manchester College. There are now over 500 colleges around the world with programs, including at least 6 graduate programs. Teaching or working with any of these programs is another career possibility for you with a Peace and Justice minor on your resume. You also can study journalism and focus on peace and justice issues in your writing.
Regardless of your field of major and the profession that lands you in, your Peace and Justice studies will make you a more sensitive and informed citizen of your community and the world.
Fact
The Edmundites, the order of priests who founded Saint Michael’s, played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement. Today, nearly 70 percent of St. Mike’s students volunteer through MOVE (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts).
In Depth
Your first course as a Peace and Justice minor, “Approaches to Peace,” introduces you to the issues involved in challenging human society’s acceptance of war and in working toward a new way of thinking about peace and social justice. Course discussions focus on the roots and causes of war; methods of conflict resolution and arms reduction; eliminating structural violence; religious inspiration for peace-making; and non-violence as a method and way of life. You’ll also take Christian Social Ethics, an examination of the interactions of Christianity with various social systems, resources of Christianity for social justice, and critical and constructive views of Christianity in the modern world.
Other courses you can choose among for the minor are in the Religious Studies, Political Science or Philosophy Departments and deal with issues like human rights, European political thought, “Work, Capital and God,” the politics of global AIDS, the politics of world economy and “Otherness and Marginalization” based on thoughts of a the French philosopher Levinas.
The program on Peace and Justice engages the mission of the Society of Saint Edmund to understand and solve global problems. It is an interdisciplinary program drawing on the strength of college faculty in areas such as international relations, ethics and values, social analysis, community service, human rights and social responsibility. Although the program’s objectives include teaching about avoiding war and resolving conflicts, the fundamental goal is to understand the structural injustices that cause war and violence and to alter them so as to realize positive peace.
Special Opportunites
The minor is strongly linked to the Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice on Campus, and working for the center is a great opportunity for students in the program
Many of our students become involved either the Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) on campus, which helps others in the local community and also on service trips in the U.S. and abroad.
Campus Ministry, the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) and such interest groups on campus are other ways to act on what you learn in program classes.
Careers
Students with a Peace and Justice minor often are motivated to have careers with nonprofit or government agencies whose missions pursue peace and justice around the world, or with various religious-based ministries. Having this minor on your resume along with a business background makes you an asset in the growing realm of socially responsible businesses. You’ll also be better equipped to make a meaningful difference in politics if that feels like your calling.
Justice and Peace Studies have grown exponentially in the last 20 years. The first undergraduate program in Peace Studies was formed 50 years ago at Manchester College. There are now over 500 colleges around the world with programs, including at least 6 graduate programs. Teaching or working with any of these programs is another career possibility for you with a Peace and Justice minor on your resume. You also can study journalism and focus on peace and justice issues in your writing.
Regardless of your field of major and the profession that lands you in, your Peace and Justice studies will make you a more sensitive and informed citizen of your community and the world.
Fact
The Edmundites, the order of priests who founded Saint Michael’s, played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement. Today, nearly 70 percent of St. Mike’s students volunteer through MOVE (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts).