The Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies program is an interdisciplinary minor.  Peace studies as a field began in the 1960-70s in response to the vast destruction of war, but as a discipline it has broadened to examining conflict within societies, humanity’s mounting conflict with Earth’s natural systems in addition to studying conflict between and among the nations.  Our program is organized around three spheres of violence and peacemaking, international conflict and peacemaking, societal violence and conflict resolution and environmental violence and ecological concerns. We draw on courses offered in the Loyola’s departments in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences.

The Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies program serves students who wish to achieve a deeper understanding of the dynamics of conflict and aggression and the practices of peacemaking and reconciliation is the three spheres of international conflict, societal injustice, and ecological concerns. The program prepares students to see patterns in conflict and war-making and to develop a sensitivity to some of the best practices for conflict-management, negotiation, reconciliation, and peacemaking.  The program is an ideal partner for many students’ majors by offering a broadening of exposure to the patterns of conflict and conflict-reduction that they may well experience directly in their life and career.  The program serves to enrich the understanding of students going on in law, medicine, social work, business, communications, pastoral care, criminal justice, psychology, and the social and ecological sciences. The program also serves students wishing to go on and do graduate work in masters and doctoral programs in Peace Studies.