Local Peace Studies Network
Convenes at BRC

Aiming to rekindle a local network of peace studies activists and to integrate students into this network, the New England Peace Studies Association embarked on a weekend conference in February at the Boston Research Center. Dale Bryan, Coordinator of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Tufts University and one of the co-convenors of the meeting, envisioned the gathering as "conversational and retreat-like"--hoping it would spark the revival of a yearly gathering.

Bryan noted that students in particular receive several benefits from such meetings: "they get an 'indirect mentoring' from those with many more years of commitment, and they leave being more aware of the tradition within which they travel." He added that those with many years' experience are encouraged when they meet newcomers to the field.

Centering on the topic, "What is Peace Studies Doing? Amidst Globalization, Amidst Localities," participants examined, through frank discussion, the implications of their efforts for both local and global spheres. The first discussion pointed to the interconnectedness of the two. Elise Boulding, in her Friday evening keynote address, emphasized that global and local are not "different dimensions" but rather are "a series of connected levels or steps." She urged that peace researchers try "mapping" the international system in order to get an accurate picture of the web of connections among many different worldwide organizations.

At the start of the next day's sessions, Paul Joseph, Professor of Sociology at Tufts University, agreed that "global and local are intermeshed with each other so completely and so thoroughly" that it is a challenge to find words or concepts to reflect that interconnection. He noted that although the general view of globalization focuses on the wide-ranging activities of large transnational companies in such areas as entertainment, technology, and communications, globalization also "takes place in so many other ways as well." "Part of peace activism," he continued, "is to recognize the increased importance of NGOs and the way that many social movements have been able to mobilize and carry out their activities on a global basis."

The intersection between global and local leads to "paradoxes and ambiguities," Joseph asserted, saying that "they don't lend themselves to smooth analysis." He took time to describe some of these problem areas and illustrated his point by noting that although globalization is leading to a decreasing possibility of war between nation-states, there is a growing possibility of violent conflict or subnational wars because the increasing "delegitimization of war" has not been accompanied by a "deligitimization of violence." Such paradoxes make peace studies very exciting and necessary, but also difficult.

Following the morning plenary discussion, Virginia Straus and Amy Morgante of the BRC presented an overview of the Earth Charter initiative, highlighting the potential for using the Charter's values and principles to teach peace studies and motivate peace activism. The Charter builds upon previous environmental documents; and together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is part of an evolving global ethic. They emphasized that the Charter defines a set of common values in which human rights and the welfare of the environment are intertwined.

Paul Joseph (second from right) shares his views on globalization with local peace studies students and faculty

In the afternoon session, Florence Ladd, former Director of the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College, reflected on a personal experience that helped awaken her to the need for formal peace studies programs. When her son was young, she said, they had a "no toy guns" policy in the house. Nevertheless, he turned any object into a weapon to accompany the sounds he had learned to make. Although her son declared himself a conscientious objector when he turned eighteen, to her surprised relief, Dr. Ladd wondered why she hadn't asked his schools in those early years to bring peace studies into the curriculum. When she later realized that "in a city with two universities there was no established peace studies department," she determined that this was something she could work toward.

"How do we institutionalize peace studies," she asked, "not just in colleges and universities, but in primary and secondary education? How do we ensure the possibility that there will be peace studies departments, tenured faculty members, and the expectation that children should develop some competence in the comprehension of peace studies at an early age?"

Participants addressed these and many other intriguing points, including the notions that imposing global ideas on local communities can be a form of imperialism, and that peace studies programs should promote social change as well as social service. As a "Farewell Reflection," Gordon Fellman, Chair of the Peace Studies Program at Brandeis University, asked everyone to join in a writing and sharing exercise. Participants noted that "things gained" from the two-day event included realizations that "service is good, social change is better," "peace is not just a lack of violence," and justice is "irresistible." Fellman concluded by noting that the group had done something of a peaceful, cooperative nature by composing a summary together.

-- Rosemary Loomis

What is Peace Studies Doing?
Amidst Globalization, Amidst Localities

February 6-7, 1998

• Nahid Bhadelia, Tufts University
  
• Elise Boulding, Dartmouth College, retired
  
• Dale Bryan, Tufts University
  
• Katherine Cheairs, Tufts University
  
• Gordon Fellman, Brandeis University
  
• John Hartz, College of the Holy Cross
  
• Ginny Hamilton, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
  
• Jill Hanley, Tufts University
  
• Cathy Hoffman, Cambridge Peace Commission
  
• Paul Joseph, Tufts University
  
• Florence Ladd, author
  
• Russ Lopez, Environmental Diversity Forum
  
• Krishna Mallick, Salem State College
  
• Nancy Lee Wood, Bristol Community College