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Peace & Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

Department Overview

At levels from the interpersonal to the global, the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Swarthmore College provides opportunities to study conflict and peacemaking in many forms.

The program's multidisciplinary curriculum examines the causes, practices, and consequences of violence as well as peaceful or nonviolent methods of conflict management, resolution,and transformation. Students explore many factors shaping human conflict, including the psychological,social, cultural, political, economic, biological, religious, and historical.

The Peace and Conflict Studies Program draws courses from a range of social science and humanities departments at Swarthmore and the other campuses of the Tri-College consortium. Students may declare a major or minor in peace and conflict studies.

 

Highlight of Spring 2022 Courses

Course flyer for PEAC 025B

This course will address the sociology of peace process and intractable identity conflicts in deeply divided societies. Northern Ireland will serve as the primary case study, and the course outline will include the history of the conflict, the peace process, and grassroots conflict transformation initiatives.

Course flyer for Religion 023 Quakers Past and Present

This course explores the religious beliefs, social teachings, and impact of Quakers in North America from the 1650s to the present. 

Course Flyer for Spanish 103

This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations of human suffering, empathy, and pain.

Course Flyer PEAC 022 Peace Education

In this introductory course, students will explore the historical, ethical, and theoretical foundations of peace education, a subfield of peace and conflict studies. 

Course flyer for Music 006D

This course explores African diasporic music as it’s been used in performative acts of resistance and protest in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.

This course will address the sociology of peace process and intractable identity conflicts in deeply divided societies. Northern Ireland will serve as the primary case study, and the course outline will include the history of the conflict, the peace process, and grassroots conflict transformation initiatives.

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Check out the Peace and Conflict Studies Blog for news, announcements, and events.
Peace and Conflict Studies Blog
Learn more about the kinds of work our students are involved in before and after graduation.
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Blog News

Climate Essentials

Learn more about Peace and Conflict Studies student leadership with Climate Essentials, a student-led virtual workshop. Read more about the workshop in the latest issue of Swarthmore's College Bulletin.

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Global Nonviolent Action Database

The Global Nonviolent Action Database is an online electronic database of hundreds of nonviolent action campaigns.

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Global Nonviolent Action Database

The Peace Collection and the Friends Historical Library

The Swarthmore College Peace Collection offers a rich collection of primary & secondary materials related to peace organizations, nonviolence, disarmament, and conflict resolution.

The Friends Historical Library documents the history and concerns of the Society of Friends (Quakers) from the 17th century to the present.

Swarthmore College Peace Collection Photo Collage

The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility

The Peace and Conflict Studies encourages its students to “explore topics relevant to peace and conflict through fieldwork, internships, or other experiences outside the classroom.” Consequently, our program values our partnership with the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and its work to advance engaged learning and research.

The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility supports Swarthmore faculty, staff, and students as they engage with “surrounding communities both locally and globally, for mutual benefit and reciprocally enriching relationships.”

Peace and Conflict Studies often holds classes in the Lang Center and co-sponsors a variety of events.  Stay tuned and follow our blog and social media feeds (@thelangcenter and @swarthmorepeace) for more news!

Delaware County Homicide Database

Explore the Delaware County Homicide Database, a tool created by students, staff, and faculty via our program's “Gun Violence Prevention” class, to help community members, advocates, and policymakers learn more about gun-related and other homicides in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

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Delaware County Homicide Database