College introduces peace and justice major

Everyone has come across a situation that seems unfair and unjust. People may try to rectify the situation in an attempt to change what appears wrong, yet along the way will find that fighting for peace is more difficult than it may first appear. This is one of many reasons why Saint Anselm College is introducing the Peace and Justice major, available to second semester sophomores and below. It is the first interdisciplinary major available at Saint Anselm, starting off a new initiative to create a more inviting academic curriculum for prospective students. The Peace and Justice major will "help students identify injustice and recognize how complex it is," says Professor Dennis Sweetland, the chairman of the new major. Designed as part of the new curriculum revisions, the Peace and Justice major will combine concepts from sociology, criminal justice, philosophy, theology, biology, and politics in order to provide a more comprehensive approach to the study of justice and the peace which accompanies it.

The major is designed to help with a commonly encountered problem when people "examine the situations students encounter which they think are unjust and set out to remedy the situations before becoming frustrated because they are more complex than they may first appear," says Professor Sweetland. He emphasized that any area of current or past events can be examined by a Peace and Justice major, because it is not just political, but also social, religious, and economic.

From the historical impact of injustice on current society to the sociological significance of the "haves" and "have nots," the Peace and Justice major will be able to provide a more personally designed area of study, allowing students to focus on any issue ranging from the environment to politics. Similarly, the jobs available to Peace and Justice majors are just as varied. As a true liberal arts major, Peace and Justice can be applied to the fields of law, business, medicine, counseling, advocacy, government work, and many more areas of employment.

The first introductory course available to Peace and Justice majors will be available this coming fall, and will explore the relationships between worldly and local conflict through the application of theories and proposals of solution. Peace and Justice majors will be required to take five core courses ranging from Theories of Peace and Justice to Conflict Resolution. There are also many electives available through the criminal justice, biology, sociology, and politics departments, which Peace and Justice majors are encouraged to study. Both Professor Smith of the Sociology department and Professor Lucas of the Politics department hope to teach Introduction to Peace and Justice, additionally encompassing guest lectures and faculty input.

As the first interdisciplinary major, Peace and Justice does not have its own department but rather combines the techniques of many Saint Anselm professors to give students a well-rounded experience. Professor Sweetland also added that he hopes a Peace and Justice minor will soon also be made available to students. More information on the Peace and Justice major will be made available to undeclared students soon.