Goshen College to host third annual Student Peace Conference, Oct. 6-9

Plowshares event focuses on engaging the empire in solidarity

GOSHEN, Ind. – As the global economy is increasingly impacted by multinational corporations, media outlets, renegade governments and military forces, it is difficult for one to know how to approach the worldly culture that has been created. In an attempt to encourage dialogue with and within today’s society, Goshen College will host the third annual Plowshares and Peace and Justice Student Association (PJSA) National Student Peace Conference titled, “In Solidarity: Engaging Empire in Activism, Education and Community Strategies,” on Oct. 6-9.

Through a series of workshops, speakers, panel discussions, strategy sessions and films, the conference looks to address a number of questions, such as post-colonialism through the eyes of a Native American, post conflict social changes in Latin America and Iraq, strategies and tactics of nonviolent direct action, privileges of race and gender and Sudan and the realities of Darfur.

Scheduled conference speakers will include Rebecca Walker, Manuela Aguilar, Imam Ibrahim Kazerooni and George “Tink” Tinker. Walker, author of the international bestselling book “Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self” and editor of two others, has been published in a wide variety of magazines and publications, as well as co-founding the Third Wave Foundation, the only national, philanthropic organization for young women. Aguilar, who has taught in the United States, Sweden and Nicaragua, is currently the dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations and director of the Center for Political Studies and American Studies Programs at Universidad Americana in Managua, Nicaragua. Kazerooni, a native of Iraq who was forced to flee his homeland, currently works in the Muslim community as Imam and travels to many countries giving lectures. Tinker, an ordained Lutheran pastor, is a professor of American Indian culture and religious traditions at the Ilif School of Theology and works in the Indian community.

Registration costs for the conference vary according to income classifications, and payment should be made through Goshen College. For PJSA members before Sept. 1, the cost is $30 for low income persons, $130 for individuals and $250 for an organization. After Sept. 1, the cost for low income persons is $45, for individuals is $155 and for an organization is $300. For nonmembers, before Sept. 1 the cost is $45 dollars for low income persons, $180 for individuals and $350 for organizations. After Sept. 1, the cost for low income persons is $60, for individuals is $200 and for an organization is $400. For all faculty and students, the cost is $20 before Sept. 1 and $25 after.

For more information or to register, call Dean Johnson at (574) 535-7728, e-mail deanjj@goshen.edu or visit www.plowsharesproject.org/.

The Plowshares Peace Studies Project is a collaboration of Goshen, Manchester and Earlham colleges that strives to connect communities and educational institutions with imaginative ways to address the problems of violence and related challenges that confront America and the world today.

- Jennifer Rupp

Editors: For more information about this release or request photos of the speakers, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu/.