Peace, justice, and conflict studies (PJCS)

Major in peace, justice, and conflict studies

41 credit hours

• Bibl 321, Biblical Themes of Peace3
• PJCS 311, Junior Seminar3
• PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory4
• PJCS 409, Internship1-4
• PJCS 411, Senior Seminar3
• Choose six courses from the list below:18
  • PJCS 201 PX, Violence & Nonviolence
  • PJCS 202 PX, Spiritual Path of Peacemakers
  • PJCS 210 PX, Transforming Conflict & Violence
  • PJCS 220, Inside Out
  • PJCS 310, Issues in PJCS
  • PJCS 332, Religion, Conflict & Peace
  • PJCS 347, Restorative Justice
  • PJCS 350, Dynamics/Theology of Reconciliation
  • PJCS 360, Designing for Social Change
  • PJCS 370, Personal Violence & Healing
  • PJCS 425, War & Peace in the Modern World
  • PJCS 426, Conflict-Healthy Groups
• One of the following:3
  • Econ 200, Principles of Economics
  • Econ 310, Economics of War & Peace
• One of the following:3
  • PoSc 200, Introduction to Political Science
  • PoSc 210, Introduction to Public Policy
  • PoSc 308, International Politics
• One related course:3
  • Hist 330, Gender in World History
  • Rel 316, Liberation Theologies
  • SoWk 355, Contemporary Women’s Issues
  • Soc 334, Race, Class & Ethnic Relations

Student learning outcomes

Graduates in peace, justice and conflict studies will:

1. Identify, analyze and address various forms of violence, from interpersonal through structural.
2. Analyze the relationship of violence to conflict and develop and argue for nonviolent ways of responding to conflict.
3. Analyze the process of reconciliation at both interpersonal and structural levels, with particular attention to the complex interplay, and sometimes tensions, between justice, truth, and forgiveness.
4. Demonstrate and apply knowledge of conflict and communication theory, process and skills in their own lives and relationships.
5. Argue for a personal role in peace-building and social change processes.
6. Analyze the role of religion in causing and nurturing violence and in promoting peace.
7. Be given every opportunity to embrace peacemaking as integral to faith, and faith as integral to peacemaking.

Planning guide

SST	Recommended: sophomore year, any summer, spring term junior year, or fall term senior year
First year	Goshen Core Research & Writing: War, Peace & Nonresistance (preferred) SST language Transforming Conflict and Violence Economics or political science course
Second year	Goshen Core Expository Writing (strongly recommended)Violence and Nonviolence Mediation Political science or economics course
Third year	Goshen Core Junior Seminar Additional courses required for PJCS major
Fourth year	Balance of Goshen Core Remaining courses required for PJCS major Senior Seminar

Planning and advising notes

Students should work with their academic advisor to select some classes designed to help them apply their PJCS major after graduation. Courses that have served PJCS majors well in the past, for example, include Soc 322 Social Policy & Programs and SoWk 391 Methods of Social Research. PJCS 325 and PJCS 347 rotate every other year.

Conflict Transformation certificate

12 credit hours

• PJCS 210, Transforming Conflict and Violence3
• PJCS 325, Mediation: Process, Skills and Theory3
• Soc 334, Race, Class and Ethnic Relations3
• Choose one of the following:3
  • CJRJ 200, Sociology of Crime and Deviance
  • PJCS 201, Violence and Nonviolence
  • PJCS 220, Inside-Out
  • PJCS 347, Restorative Justice

Advising notes

This certificate is not available to anyone majoring or minoring in PJCS or CJRJ as there is too much overlap between required courses.