Peace, Conflict & Social Justice
Students may complete a concentration in Peace, Conflict, and Social Justice Studies.
The Peace, Conflict, and Social Justice Studies concentration reflects Bryn Mawr's interest in the study of conflicts, peacemaking, and social justice and offers students the opportunity to design a course of study, to sustain a thematic focus across disciplinary boundaries, and to enrich their major program in the process.
The concentration is student designed, so each program of study is unique. The first step in this journey is contacting the director of the program and completing a first draft of the rationale (https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/academic-information/departments-programs/peace-conflict-social-justice-studies/components-rationale). Students are encouraged to draw courses from the programs at Haverford and Swarthmore as well as Bryn Mawr.
Concentration Requirements
Students must select and offer a rationale for the particular constellation of courses they identify around a theme or focus. The three stages of the concentration are:
- complete an introductory course, such as Introduction to Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights at Haverford or Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore;
- complete four elective courses drawn from across the tri-co curriculum, and
- complete a culminating independent study that includes creation of a portfolio, which earns students a single credit that is awarded upon the successful completion of all components.
For more information, contact the program coordinator, Alison Cook-Sather, acooksat@brynmawr.edu.
EDUC B275 Emergent Multilingual Learners in U.S. Schools (1 Unit)
This course, offered as both an elective as well as a course required for students pursuing secondary teaching certification in Pennsylvania through the Bi-Co Education Program, operates from a heteroglossic and culturally and linguistically sustaining stance that has four intersecting aims. First, the course seeks to support students in a critical self-examination of the ways that language has shaped their lives and learning, particularly in the context of racism, linguicism, ethno- and euro-centrism, marginalization and austerity in schools and society. Second, students investigate the ways that both historical and contemporary educational policy concerning the education of EMLLs in the United States has operated from a monoglossic orientation that has limited programmatic and pedagogical options within the classroom to those that fail to address the lived realities and needs of this growing population of students. Third, students collaboratively research and present their findings on heteroglossic classroom language practices that, in contrast to those above, respect and leverage students’ community cultural wealth and full linguistic repertoires. Fourth, students, drawing upon these findings as well as research on multiple language and literacy acquisition, hone their skills as curriculum designers and pedagogues, working to address EMLLs’ diverse strengths and needs in mainstream classrooms and other educational settings. All four aims are bolstered by weekly fieldwork opportunities to learn with and from EMLLs and their educators in the Philadelphia area. Lottery Preference(s): 1. EDUC majors and Certification students; 2. EDUC minors; 3. then by seniority
Tagged with:
- Child and Family Studies
- Peace, Justice and Human Rights
College Requirement(s):
- Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
- Power, Inequity, and Justice (PIJ)
Typically Offered: Every Fall
HIST B200 The Atlantic World 1492-1800 (1 Unit)
The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the way in which peoples, goods, and ideas from Africa, Europe. and the Americas came together to form an interconnected Atlantic World system. The course is designed to chart the manner in which an integrated system was created in the Americas in the early modern period, rather than to treat the history of the Atlantic World as nothing more than an expanded version of North American, Caribbean, or Latin American history.
Tagged with:
- Africana Studies
- Anthropology at Bryn Mawr
- Anthropology at Haverford
- History at Haverford
- International Studies
- International Studies
- Latin American, Iberian, and Latinx Studies
- Peace, Justice and Human Rights
College Requirement(s): Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Typically Offered: Every other Fall
POLS B141 Introduction to International Politics (1 Unit)
This course offers an introduction to international politics to acquaint students with major trends and themes in international relations and global affairs. The course is divided into two units. The first unit explores the foundational concepts and theories and the history of international relations. The second unit focuses on key issues in international relations, such as the rise of populism & authoritarianism, international organizations, global peace & security initiatives, human rights, and forced migration. Throughout the semester, students will be asked to connect these theories and topics to issues that are playing out in the world today. This course is a pre-requisite for other International Politics courses within the Pol Sci department.
Tagged with:
- African Studies at Bryn Mawr
- Africana Studies
- Peace, Justice and Human Rights
- Political Science at Haverford
Typically Offered: Occasionally
RUSS B237 Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Incarceration (1 Unit)
This course explores Russian narratives of incarceration, punishment, and captivity from the 17th century to the present day and considers topics such as social justice, violence and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering. Taught in English. No knowledge of Russian language/culture necessary. Open to all.
Tagged with: Peace, Justice and Human Rights
College Requirement(s):
- Critical Interpretation (CI)
- Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Writing in the Major: Writing Attentive
Typically Offered: Every other Fall
SOCL B350 Movements for Social Justice (1 Unit)
Throughout human history, powerless groups of people have organized social movements to improve their lives and their societies. Powerful groups and institutions have resisted these efforts in order to maintain their own privilege. Some periods of history have been more likely than others to spawn protest movements. What factors seem most likely to lead to social movements? What determines their success/failure? We will examine 20th and 21st-century social movements to answer these questions. Prerequisite: At least one prior social science course or permission of the instructor.
Tagged with:
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Peace, Justice and Human Rights
College Requirement(s): Power, Inequity, and Justice (PIJ)
Typically Offered: Occasionally