Explorations
Tufts Prepares for a Culture of Peace
In 1998, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates made an appeal to the
United Nations (UN) to declare the years 2001Ð2010 the ÒInternational
Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of
the World.Ó In response, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
establishing the Decade and calling on member states to Òtake the
necessary steps to ensure that the practice of peace and nonviolence
is taught at all levels in their respective societies, including
in educational institutions.Ó
Several groups at Tufts have taken up the UNÕs call to action.
The Peace and Justice Studies Program (PJS), the Tufts University
Center for Children (TUCC), the International Relations Department
and the Fletcher SchoolÕs International Negotiation and Conflict
Resolution club (INCR) are collaborating on co-curricular programming
to educate Tufts students about cultures of peace and nonviolence.
A few events were held in the fall 2000 semester, but the majority
of the programming is scheduled for this spring when the UN launches
the International Decade. The planning for the spring is continually
evolving as more campus groups join in the discussion. The Peace
and Justice Studies Department held two events in their ÒPeace,
Brunch, and JusticeÓ discussion series pertaining to the Decade.
The first was an introduction to the Decade featuring Professor
of Sociology and PJS Director Paul Joseph; Chelsea Davenport, J02;
Julia Goodman, J01; and Associate Director of the Tufts Center for
Children Lois Wainstock. The second event was a discussion of the
UN system and the possibilities for reform.
Joseph, Davenport and Goodman are also teaching freshman advising
classes as part of Tufts participation in the Decade. Joseph is
teaching a Windows on Research class called ÒChild Soldiers and
Post-Cold War Armed Conflict.Ó The class will guide students in
research projects on various topics related to the use of child
soldiers and the effects it has on children and communities.
ÒMy students were very surprised to learn that there are about
300,000 children under the age of 18 involved in armed conflict
in about 35 countries,Ó said Joseph. ÒI was very pleased to see
that they were interested in carrying this message to the rest of
the community.Ó
The students are creating posters, flyers and petitions, and they
are organizing a clothing drive to benefit former child soldiers.
Davenport, Lauren Maggio, J01, and Associate Professor of Comparative
Religion Joseph Walser are leading a freshman Explorations class
on the subject of childrenÕs literature. In ÒCultivating Peace:
Exploring International ChildrenÕs Literature,Ó students will read
childrenÕs storybooks about international conflicts to understand
how children learn about war.
Additionally, students in the course will be authoring their own
books to teach children about conflict and the cultivation of peace.
Goodman and Alex Braden, A01, with the help of Associate Professor
of Spanish Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir, are leading an Explorations class,
ÒStreet Art: By the People, for the People.Ó The class examines
public murals as a means of social and political commentary. Goodman,
a member of the PJS Executive Board, plans to initiate a mural project
in collaboration with the Somerville Youth Program that will feature
depictions of inspirational figures and quotations selected by the
youths.
Goodman said that the painting of a mural can be a model for a
just society. ÒEvery child has an equal voice in the creation of
a mural, which is something they donÕt experience in other realms
of their life,Ó said Goodman. ÒRegardless of the final product,
the process of creating the mural is important because it can be
empowering, especially for kids, who donÕt always have their voices
heard.Ó
For the spring, TUCC, PJS and Child Development Professor Calvin
Gidney are planning a film series on the subject of violence and
children. In addition, PJS and INCR are organizing a colloquium
on strategic nonviolence and conflict resolution. First-year Fletcher
students and leaders of the INCR Mayako Ushida and Maria Stephan
are hopeful that the discussion will foster new interest in strategic
nonviolence at the Fletcher School. ÒFletcher is a preeminent international
relations school dedicated to equipping its students with all those
diplomatic ÔtoolsÕ needed to promote peace in todayÕs increasingly
complex world,Ó said Stephan. ÒThe UN Decade of Peace could serve
as a framework for cooperation between Fletcher and TuftsÕ Peace
and Justice Studies program, focusing on informal discussions, lectures
and workshops on nonviolence as an effective alternative to the
use of force for preventing violent conflict.Ó
The PJS department is also working with the Peace Studies Association,
a national federation of peace studies programs, to hold a conference
in the spring. The conference will bring together scholars and students
from peace studies programs around the nation for discussions and
networking. The conference will also honor renowned scholar and
activist Elise Boulding, the author of Cultures of Peace: The Hidden
Side of History. The PJS department also plans to bring a high-ranking
UN official to campus in the spring to officially inaugurate the
International Decade at Tufts. Ñ Ben Clouette, A02
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