Peace, justice and conflict studies (PJCS)
Joe Liechty, Department Chair, Professor of PJCS, Director of Peace, Justice & Conflict StudiesCarolyn Schrock-Shenk, Associate Professor of Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies
Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Assistant Professor of PJCS
Introduction
Goshen College offers four academic peace programs. Visit the peace, justice and conflict studies program Web site at www.goshen.edu/peace.
- Major in peace, justice and conflict studies
- Minor in conflict transformation studies
- Minor in peace and justice studies
- Certificate in conflict transformation for teachers
The major introduces students to the array of topics and disciplines that make up peace, justice and conflict studies, while also allowing students to focus in areas of particular interest. The minor in conflict studies is oriented toward students hoping to use conflict transformation skills in a particular career or profession. The minor in peace and justice studies prepares students from a wide variety of academic majors for work in peace and justice organizations and other service agencies in the United States or abroad. The certificate program in conflict transformation, offered in conjunction with the teacher education program, trains education students in conflict transformation skills relevant for the classroom. The PJCS department and its programs are rooted in Anabaptist-Mennonite theology and history. Courses emphasize action-reflection learning in addition to more traditional classroom opportunities. Classes, internships and co-curricular activities equip students with a framework of personal values and skills that will help them make a positive impact wherever they live.
Special resources and activities
PJCS majors undertake a wide variety of paid and voluntary internships in Goshen, across the United States, and around the world. Examples of recent internships include Mennonite Disabilities, La Casa of Goshen, the Fourth Freedom Forum, the Center for Community Justice in Elkhart, the Elkhart County Probation Department, Boys and Girls Clubs of Elkhart and Goshen, Jubilee Partners in Georgia and Corrymeela in Northern Ireland.
Campus co-curricular activities include the annual C. Henry Smith Peace lectureship, the annual student peace oratorical contest, the student PAX organization, the peace play competition, peace studies community forums, peace scholars-in-residence, the Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship and the peace library collection.
Career and postgraduate opportunities
Students are prepared to enter graduate programs in conflict transformation studies or in peace and justice studies – and any other field of scholarship in which critical and creative analysis of difficult issues is a priority. They are also prepared to work in a wide variety of organizations engaged in work around themes of mission, peace, restorative justice, conflict transformation, social justice, and other forms of service. Professional students electing the minor or professional endorsement in conflict transformation studies will be prepared to assist individuals, organizations and communities to deal constructively with conflict in the work environment.
Major in peace, justice and conflict studies
41 credit hours
- Bibl 321, Biblical Themes of Peace 3
- PJCS 311, Junior Seminar 3
- PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory 4
- PJCS 409, Internship 1-4
- PJCS 411, Senior Seminar 3
- Choose six courses from the list below:18
PJCS 201 PX, Violence & Nonviolence
PJCS 210 PX, Transforming Conflict & Violence
PJCS 310, Issues in PJCS
PJCS 332, Religion, Conflict & Peace
PJCS 347, Restorative Justice
PJCS 350, Dynamics/Theology of Reconciliation
PJCS 360, Personal Violence & Healing
PJCS 370, Designing for Social Change
PJCS 425, War & Peace in the Modern World
PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups - One of the following: 3
Econ 203, Principles of Microeconomics
Econ 310, Economics of War & Peace
- One of the following: 3
PoSc 200, Introduction to Political Science
PoSc 210, Introduction to Public Polidy
PoSc 308, International Politics - One related course: 3
Hist 330, Gender in World History
Hist 335, History of Ethnic Conflict
Rel 316, Liberation Theologies
SoWk 355, Contemporary Women's Issues
Soc 334, Race, Class & Ethnic Relations
Planning guide
| SST | Recommended: sophomore year, any summer, spring term junior year or fall term senior year |
| First year | Goshen Core |
| Second year | Goshen Core |
| Third year | Goshen Core Junior Seminar Additional courses required for PJCS major |
| Fourth year | Balance of Goshen Core Remaining courses required for PJCS major Senior Seminar |
Planning and advising notes
Students should work with their academic adviser to select some classes designed to help them apply their PJCS major after graduation. Courses that have served PJCS majors well in the past, for example, include Soc 322, Social Policy & Programs and SoWk 391, Methods of Social Research.
Minor in conflict transformation studies
19 credit hours
- PJCS 210 PX, Transforming Conflict and Violence 3
- PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory 3-4
- PJCS 410, Senior Advanced Work 1
- One of the following: 3
PJCS 347, Restorative Justice
PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups - Choose three courses: 9
Bibl 321, Biblical Themes of Peace
PJCS 201 PX, Violence & Nonviolence
PJCS 310, Issues in PJCS
PJCS 332, Religion, Conflict & Peace
PJCS 347, Restorative Justice
PJCS 350, Reconciliation
PJCS 360, Designing for Social Change
PJCS 370, Personal Violence & Healing
PJCS 425, War & Peace in the Modern World
PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups
Minor in peace and justice studies
19 credit hours
- PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory 3-4
- PJCS 410, Senior Advanced Work 1
- Choose five courses:15
Bibl 321, Biblical Themes of Peace
PJCS 201 PX, Violence & Nonviolence
PJCS 210 PX, Transforming Conflict & Violence
PJCS 310, Issues in PJCS
PJCS 332, Religion, Conflict & Peace
PJCS 347, Restorative Justice
PJCS 350, Reconciliation
PJCS 360, Personal Violence & Healing
PJCS 370, Designing for Social Change
PJCS 425, War & Peace in the Modern World
PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups
Certificate in conflict transformation for teachers
9 credit hours
This certificate may be added to an elementary, middle school, or secondary education program. For further information, consult with a member of the teacher education faculty. Education students who wish to complete the conflict transformation studies minor at the conclusion of their certificate requirements should declare the minor and consult with a PJCS adviser for further details.
- PJCS 210 PX, Transforming Conflict and Violence 3
- PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory 3-4
- PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups 3
PJCS courses
PJCS 201 Violence and Nonviolence 3
A seminar course in which advanced students examine selected problems in violence. The course focuses upon the socio-cultural matrix of an individual's encounters with violence and integrates religious and ethical studies with the social sciences. A Peacemaking Perspectives course in the Goshen Core.
PJCS 209 Field Experience 1
(1-4)
An approved, supervised internship related to peace, justice and conflict studies work.
PJCS 210 Transforming Conflict and Violence 3
Explores the potentially constructive nature of conflict, the destructive nature of violence and the relationship between the two. Examines various patterns of communication, conflict and violence and what is needed for transformation. Students will reflect on their own conflict styles, build their skills for peacemaking and examine their personal temptations for violence. Because PJCS 210 introduces concepts developed in greater depth in PJCS 325, this course may not be taken concurrently with or following PJCS 325. A Peacemaking Perspectives course in the Goshen Core.
PJCS 310 Issues in PJCS 3
Contemporary issues, e.g., militarism, organizational power relationships and conflict transformation, nuclear weaponry, economic sanctions, domestic violence.
PJCS 311 Junior Seminar 3
Junior Seminar has three main purposes: to explore classic and contemporary issues in conflict and peace through faculty- and student-led seminars to develope research and writing skills appropriate for PJCS; and to begin work toward a major research project to be completed in Senior Seminar.
PJCS 325 Mediation:Process, Skills, Theory 4
(3-4)
Focuses on the third party role of the mediator. Explores the theoretical basis for mediation, its various applications in North America, and critiques of the appropriateness of mediation for certain types of conflicts. Emphasis will be on experiential learning to develop the skills needed for mediation in formal and informal settings. PJCS majors and minors, as well as Interdisciplinary majors with a PJCS component, will complete one hour of applied experience.
PJCS 332 Religion, Conflict and Peace 3
Examines the role of religion in causing and nurturing violence and in promoting peace themes which have emerged as central to the pursuit of peace in the 21st century. The course will also consider implications of these themes for Christian mission.
PJCS 347 Restorative Justice 3
Begins with an account of some of the classic and mainstream understandings of justice and then moves on to an overview of the foundational principles of restorative justice and its various practical applications. The course will examine and address the needs of victims, offenders, communities and broader systems. It will specifically examine the Victim Offender Reconciliation (VORP) model and its role in the North American criminal justice system. It will also examine models from other contexts such as family group conferences and circles.
PJCS 350 Dynamics/Theology of Reconciliation 3
An interdisciplinary examination of the work of reconciliation in interpersonal and small group relationships, but especially in large-scale social and political contexts.
PJCS 360 Designing for Social Change 3
Explores different strategies for achieving change in contexts characterized by high levels of complexity and conflict. Explores the role and significance of the relatively new field of dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement. Students will draw from their own experiences as well as change initiatives from other parts of the world in order to surface the set of assumptions they hold about how constructive change happens.
PJCS 370 Personal Violence and Healing 3
A seminar course in which advanced students examine selected problems in violence. The course focuses upon the socio-cultural matrix of an individual's encounters with violence and integrates religious and ethical studies with the social sciences.
PJCS 409 Senior Internship 3
(1-4)
An approved internship or work experience related to peace, justice, and conflict studies. Examples include supervised activities in shelters for the homeless, work with local, regional, national or international peace, justice and conflict transformation agencies and organizations or work with congregational and denominational peace centers.
PJCS 410 Senior Advanced Work 1
A written project in which seniors with a Peace and Justice minor or a Conflict Transformation minor reflect on the relationship between their academic major and what they learned in their PJCS courses.
PJCS 411 Senior Seminar 3
Students will complete a major research project on a topic of their choosing. Senior Seminar will also address life-after-college issues such as graduate school, resume preparation and job interviews.
PJCS 425 War and Peace in the Modern World 3
Working primarily from an international relations perspective, this course wlll examine changing patterns of fighting wars and seeking peace.
PJCS 426 Conflict-Healthy Groups 3
Using a systems approach, students will explore conflicts in organizations and communities, locating and examining models for assessment, diagnosis, intervention and evaluation. Working with case studies and real life situations of structural injustice and conflict, students will learn practical strategies for dialogue, problem-solving, healing, reconciliation and system change. Prerequisite: PJCS 325.
