PHIL 209 - Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies

Introduces the students to peace and justice thought both in Western and Eastern philosophic literature. It will also explore how the Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions address the issues of peace and justice in individual, family, communal, national, and global life. Assessment Level(s): ENGL 101 /ENGL 011 . Three hours each week.

3 semester hours

Course Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, a student will be able to:

Demonstrate through the use of reflective journal entries systematic and critical thinking about the concepts and application of peace and justice in his/her own personal, communal, national, and global life.
Apply lessons drawn from the study of peace and justice to confront the issues that he/she faces.
Evaluate how the practice of non-violence functions as a method and as an end goal in class discussions and written assignments.
Evaluate scholarly research in the philosophic literature, the scriptures, and practices of the different traditions in their approaches to peaceful and just co-existence in written assignments.
Compare and contrast how different activist groups work to achieve peace and justice in their communities through service learning.
Analyze the ideas of some of the major practitioners and proponents of nonviolence in class discussions and written assignments.
Discuss the major non-violent movements of the 20th century; e.g., the Indian struggle for self-rule, the Polish Solidarity movement, the American and South African civil rights movements, the resistance to repression in Argentina and Chile, the resistance to Nazi occupation in WWII through a research paper.

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