Opportunities

Peace and Conflict Studies works closely with other College programs which enable students to pursue internships, Study Abroad and Semester Away, and service-learning opportunities at home and abroad. Students are encouraged to develop skills in community organizing, conflict and dispute resolution, and other forms of peacemaking.

Academic Achievement Award

Each year the achievements of an outstanding senior concentrator are recognized with the Hampsch Award. The award is based on the GPA in Peace and Conflict Studies courses and a 10-30-page paper either completed in a Peace and Conflict Studies course or as part of a departmental or honors thesis.

Programming 

Michael Barnett, University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University, gives a keynote address titled “What Does the Refugee Crisis Tell us about the State of Humanitarianism?” at the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network Conference, which was held at Holy Cross in 2017.
Michael Barnett, University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University, gives a keynote address titled “What Does the Refugee Crisis Tell us about the State of Humanitarianism?” at the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network Conference, which was held at Holy Cross in 2017. 

The Peace and Conflict Studies Program, individually and in collaboration with other College programs, sponsors an annual lecture and panel series. These events incorporate a diverse range of perspectives, from academic experts to affected populations like asylees, and from international to local dimensions. 

In recent years, programming has included:

  • a panel on humanitarian intervention in Syria 
  • a high-profile lecture on the Islamic State 
  • a panel on LGBTQ asylum seekers 
  • a talk on race and the criminal justice system.

Research

Stephanie Yuhl, professor of history, works with Carly Priest '18, left, and Emily Breakell ’17 on a summer research project.
Stephanie Yuhl, professor of history, works with Carly Priest '18, left, and Emily Breakell ’17 on a summer research project. 

As part of the concentration, students can participate in research, either on or off campus. Every spring, Peace and Conflict Studies sponsors sessions at the Academic Conference to provide concentrators the opportunity to showcase their research.

Examples of research presented by students at the Academic Conference has included:

  • The Future of the American Nuclear Arsenal 
  • We the People: The UN, States and the Search for Peace 
  • Sumanahalli: Mind, Body and Spirit 
  • Assessing the Legality of China’s Claims in the South China Sea
  • Trends in Surgical Health Disparities 

Study Abroad

The Peace and Conflict Studies program sponsors a summer (Maymester) study abroad course titled History, Memory, and the Holocaust. Through this course, students explore one of the greatest human tragedies of all time: the Holocaust.

The course takes place in Central Europe, including as many as eight different cities in four different European countries, from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Krakow, Poland, to Prague, Czech Republic, to Berlin, Germany. It is led by Professors Thomas Doughton, senior lecturer in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, and Daniel Bitran, professor of psychology.

Learn more about this Maymester program (Holy Cross username/password required). 

Worcester World Affairs Council

Since 2017, the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, with support from the Holy Cross Office of Government and Community Relations, has funded student participation in the Worcester World Affairs Council (WWAC). WWAC is a non-profit organization affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America. Its members meet monthly at the Worcester Club, for lectures by experts in international affairs.

In their capacity as student members, Peace and Conflict Studies concentrators have benefited from presentations by and individual meetings with well-known academics and policymakers, networked with leaders in the Worcester community and met globally-oriented students from other local colleges and universities. Each fall, the concentration director calls for participants; email the director for information.