A Taste of Peace Education

Well, I've officially survived my first days of class. I have three classes: Research Methods, Key Issues in Peace and Reconciliation Studies (KIPRS for short), and Theories and Practice of Conflict Transformation. That's a full 50 credits for the semester (yes, it's a very different system here than what I'm used to!). 

I figured I'd use tonight's blog posting to give you all a basic introduction to the field of peace studies. Whenever someone asks what I'm studying, whether it be here or in the US, I always get the same, somewhat dumbfounded look back at me when I say "Peace!"  The typical response is something like: "I didn't know you could study that!" Most people don't know that it is a real, legitimate field of study. 

So, what is peace? How do you define it? Do you think of peace as the absence of war? How about the absence of violence? When you think of violence, do you think of only physical violence, or do you think of things like psychological violence? How about poverty, and its effects upon certain groups in world society? The study of peace asks these sorts of questions.

Why am I studying peace? Well, for that, you must learn some terminology. Back in the '60s, a giant in the field of peace studies coined the terms Positive Peace, and Negative Peace. No, it's not a happy/sad type of positive/negative.   Negative peace is simply the absence of war. So, when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan end (very soon I hope), the US will be in a state of "negative peace." Positive peace is where my interests begin. It would be a great day to have an absence of war. But it would be an even greater day to have an absence of war alongside equality, quality and accessible healthcare and education for all, housing for all, food for all. It is in this world of social justice that positive peace is attained. 

I'm often told that such a world is utopia- a fantasy that will never be achieved. But to those naysayers, I respond that peace, especially positive peace, is a process. And we all must do our part to contribute to this important world-wide process. We don't all have to be working on bringing peace to the Middle East and other areas in strife. But we should all be working on fostering peace in our own communities, in the simple form of participation in community events, working to solve local problems, or even just educating yourself. You see, the study of peace is an intellectual process. The more we know, the more we can share with others. The more we know, the greater chance we will learn from our past mistakes to create a better future for coming generations. 

This is not an easy task, nor an easy topic of study. And I'm honored to be able to spend a year of my life thinking about it, participating in it, and being able to take this new knowledge back home where it is so desperately needed. We have many, many, many domestic problems to solve in the US. We have way too many people without access to health care. We have way too many people graduating from high school without basic skills in reading and math. We have way too many people staying home on election day, not believing that they have a say in the way their country is run. This needs to change. And I don't even want to get started talking about all the things to be worked on in US foreign policy... 

I hope you enjoyed Peace Studies 101. Stay tuned for future lessons.