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Peace Studies

Les Field, Director (Anthropology)
Peace Studies Program
MSC01-1040
Anthropology
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
(505) 277-5205
lesfield@unm.edu
http://www.unm.edu/~peace

Desi Brown, Student Advisor
Peace Studies Program
peace@unm.edu
(505) 277-2501

Curriculum Committee
Colston Chandler (Physics)
Alex Lubin (American Studies)
Jennifer Moore (Law)
Vera Norwood (American Studies)
Mark Peceny (Political Science)
Christine Rack (Sociology)

Program Committee
Anita Amstutz
Carole Adolphine
Holly Kawakami
Susi Knoblauch
Mary Nakigan
Sayrah Namaste
Michael Nutkiewicz
Keith Prufer
Barri Standish Sanders
Daniel Schwartz

Student Representatives
Craig Castlo
Iris Keltz
Donna Licano
Sarah Shadid

Introduction

The minor in Peace Studies is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary program designed to introduce students to the causes and consequences of conflict. The program allows students the opportunity to examine alternatives to violence and to reflect upon the nature of peace as a sustainable condition at the individual and collective levels.

In the twenty-first century, the problem of violence exists on multiple levels, from domestic abuse and entrenched poverty to international armed conflict, terrorism and counter-terrorism. We face the prospect of a nuclear conflagration on one side, with the daily reality of low-technology conflicts in dozens of countries on another. In the organized violence of warfare, far more civilians die than soldiers; small arms destroy more than sophisticated weaponry, and war-related poverty, displacement, and disease are the biggest killers of all. Moreover, in refugee camps and urban communities alike, the pervasive incidence of violence within families and communities feeds and is fed by violence in its other forms.

Peace Studies students examine the influences that often lead to violent conflict, and the alternative pathways toward sustainable peace, by using the disciplinary frames found within the College of Arts & Sciences. Anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, political science, economics, literature, communications, journalism and psychology all offer ways of understanding the patterns of conflict we see in our lives and in the world. In both classroom and experiential learning, students are invited to think critically about our world, to act creatively, and to fashion their own and our collective future in a holistic and supportive educational environment.

Ultimately, the goals of the Peace Studies minor reinforce the overall goals of liberal arts education – to inform, to enrich and to strengthen humanistic values in our society. The minor offers a unique, interdisciplinary addition to existing programs at the University of New Mexico and is readily integrated into undergraduate programs in other schools and colleges in the university. Careers in law, education, management, and fine arts are enhanced by the study of conflict and its peaceful resolution, no less than more obvious career paths in foreign service, criminology, media and communications, politics, psychology, and human services.

The UNM Peace Studies Program is a collaborative association of UNM faculty, staff, students and administrators with affiliated organizational and community members. The program affirms the citizenship role of the University, participating in campus and community events relevant to establishing a just and sustainable peace.