Peace and Conflict Studies

MajorMinor3YRBachelor of Arts

Analyze and construct a more peaceful future.

In the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Butler, you’ll learn the nature and dynamics of violent conflict and the conditions and practice of peace, from the local to the global level. And you’ll also explore the causes of violence—including structural, political, economic, cultural, and environmental injustices, human rights violations, and physical harm.

As a student in our program, you’ll develop the skills necessary to build peace through everyday practices, nonviolent direct action, activism, conflict resolution, diplomacy, and policy change.

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Program Information

Curriculum

This major includes a strong core of Political Science courses, supported by offerings in Anthropology, English, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, History, Journalism, Organizational Communication and Leadership, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and Spanish. Sample courses in this program include:

PACS/PO 102 – Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
PACS/PO 220 – Community Mediation
PO 230 – Activism
PACS/PO 322 – International Conflict and Peace Building
AN 320 – Gender and Sexuality in Globalization
El 325 – Social Entrepreneurship

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See all Peace and Conflict Studies minor curriculum information

Three-Year Program

The Peace and Conflict Studies major can be completed in a total of three years. More information can be found here.

The Butler Advantage

The interdisciplinary Peace and Conflict Studies program seeks to promote a critical understanding of the nature and dynamics of violent conflict and the conditions and practice of peace from the local to the global levels.

Acquire a complex understanding of the nature and origins of violence, its dynamics, different manifestations and modes of expression.

Better understand when, why, and how conflict occurs and the different means by which conflicts are expressed, persist, and are resolved.

Critically evaluate and devise strategies for peace through reflection on different ethical, religious, philosophical, and cultural approaches to peace, the work of major thinkers and activists, and public policy.

Develop knowledge, analytical skills, and practical training through case studies and historical precedents, constructive dialogue and research, and experiential learning opportunities.

Meet Your Faculty

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Chad Bauman

Professor – Religion
Department of Philosophy and Religion

Biography Professor Bauman grew up in eastern Pennsylvania before going to Goshen College, in Northern Indiana, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree. After college, Professor Bauman went to Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) and earned both an M.Div….
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Robin Turner

Associate Professor Political Science
Political Science – LAS

Robin L. Turner is an Associate Professor of Political Science, Chair of the Department of Political Science, Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, and Coordinator of the African and Black Studies Minor at Butler University in the US A and…
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Siobhan McEvoy

Professor – Political Science
Political Science – LAS

Siobhán McEvoy-Levy is Professor of Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies and Director of The Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Her current research focuses on ‘everyday’ sites of international…
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