Commitment to Peace

Peace and Conflict Studies naturally deals with important issues of national and international security.  Modern weapons and growing interdependence compel recognition that common security is the real definition of national security:  Unless we are all secure, none of us are.  So peace is not merely the absence of war, but the absence of those many forms of violence which diminish human dignity and endanger life.  In that sense peacemaking, enabling all persons to live human lives, is a universal responsibility.

This responsibility to construct alternatives to war and violence and to foster a just and peaceful world is integral to personal development, education, and civic life.  The Peace and Conflict Studies concentration enhances one's ability to accept this responsibility, whatever one's major and whatever career one may choose.