Sample Courses

Each semester, concentrators are provided a list of courses offered that fulfill the category requirements. 

Courses by Semester

Spring 2024 (PDF)

Fall 2023 (PDF)

Spring 2023 (PDF)

Fall 2022 (PDF)

Spring 2022 (PDF)

Fall 2021 (PDF)

Spring 2021 (PDF)

Fall 2020 (PDF)

Spring 2020 (PDF)

Fall 2019 (PDF)

Sample Courses by Category

Category 1 : Ethical and Philosophical Approaches to Peace, War and Conflict

  • CISS 310 Seminar: Seeking Justice
  • CLAS 145 The Classics & Conflict in the U.S.
  • NAVL 352 Military Profession
  • POLS 284 Human Rights
  • POLS 287 Humanitarianism
  • POLS 333 Seminar: Ethics & International Relations
  • PSYC 314 Science, Medicine & the Holocaust
  • RELS 143 Social Ethics
  • RELS 277 Modern Religious Movements
  • RELS 280 Liberation Theology

Category 2: In-Depth Examination of Contemporary/Modern Large-Scale Conflict

  • CISS 392 The Holocaust
  • ENGL 354 Lincoln, Civil War, & Memory
  • HIST 114 Napoleon to European Union
  • HIST 253 The Soviet Experiment
  • HIST 255 Europe: Mass Politics/Total War 1890-1945
  • HIST 282 Modern China
  • HIST 296 South Africa & Apartheid
  • POLS 103 Introduction to International Relations
  • POLS 272 Politics of the Middle East
  • POLS 278 East Asia in World Politics
  • POLS 282 American Foreign Policy

Category 3: Structural Causes of Violence and Conflict

  • CISS 203 Community Engagement & Social Responsibility
  • EDUC 232 Schools: Surviving and Achieving
  • HIST 205 United States in the 20th Century I
  • HIST 126 Colonial Latin America
  • HIST 291/292 Making of the Modern Middle East I & II
  • POLS 257 Politics of Development
  • POLS 276 South Asian Politics
  • SOCL 203 Race and Power
  • SOCL Children and Violence
  • SOCL 361 Seminar: Leadership & Social Change

No Category (but still count as a PCON course)

  • HIST 243 Britain and Empire since 1901
  • FREN 499 Francophone Protest Poetics

Do You Have A Course that You Believe Should Be Counted for Concentration Credit?

There are two primary ways in which courses that do not already count for the Peace and Conflict Studies program may be counted:

1. Students may request approval from the Director for a course to count.
2. Instructors may request approval from the Director for a course to count.

In both cases, the following criteria are applied to determine whether a course should count toward the concentration:

1. The content of the course should be 50% or more focused on peace and conflict studies.
2. A Holy Cross instructor must approve of their course being counted toward the Peace and Conflict Studies concentration.

While both criteria are used to determine whether a course counts toward the concentration, it's important to note that a course may not count for a specific student if it does not meet the other guidelines (e.g., a fourth history course when the guidelines allow no more than three courses from a single department).