Peace & Justice Studies Association
International Peace Research Association Affiliation

Book Series

The Peace and Justice Studies Association has launched a book series!

Peace Studies: Edges and Innovations

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
The series will focus in particular on: * reconceptualizing and expanding peace education, looking to and drawing from communities that have been marginalized, overlooked, or forgotten; * gender, multiculturalism, and diversity; * positive peace/justice; * innovative peacebuilding strategies and movements; * the relationship between peace studies and contemporary problematics (e.g., climate change, indigenous peoples’ rights); * the relationship among disciplines within peace studies, looking at the overlap, interpenetration, and symbiosis that enriches our work, pushes it forward, and builds peace; * issues in criminal justice, focusing on restorative justice.

This new book series will seek to fill gaps in the conflict, peace, justice, and reconciliation literature and simultaneously present texts on the cutting edge of our discipline.  It will combine academic rigor and accessible prose, rendering the books appropriate for scholars, classrooms, practitioners, activists, policymakers, and even a general educated readership.

Proposals should include: (1) A three to five page abstract; (2) A statement as to the text’s need and its targeted audience; (3) A Table of Contents with subchapter, headings and estimated chapter lengths; (4) A timeframe for completion; (5) A short statement about the author(s) expertise at it relates to this project, biodata, and a CVfrom each author.

Inquiries about proposals should be sent to: Dr. Michael Minch at mminch@uvu.edu and Dr. Laura Finley at lfinley@barry.edu.

For more info: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/book-series?series_id=72

Peace Studies between Tradition and Innovation (2015)

Editors: Randall Amster, Laura Finley, Edmund Pries, Richard McCutcheon

The field of peace and conflict studies is rich in secular and faith traditions. At the same time, as a relatively new and interdisciplinary field, it is ripe with innovation. This volume, the first in the series Peace Studies: Edges and Innovations, edited by Michael Minch and Laura Finley of the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), is edited by top Canadian and US scholars in the field and captures both those traditions and innovations, focusing on enduring questions, organizing and activism, peace pedagogy, and practical applications. From the historical focus on disarmament, ending warfare and reducing militarism to the civil rights, women’s rights, and environmental movements, peace activists and pedagogues have long been important agents of social change. Authored by US and Canadian academics, educators, and activists, the chapters in this book demonstrate, how scholars and practitioners in the field are using the important knowledge, skills and values of their foremothers and forefathers to address new issues, integrate new technologies, and make new partners in their efforts to create a more just and humane world.  More information

Cultural Violence in the Classroom: Peace, Conflict and Education in Israel (2015)

Author: Katerina Standish

In identity-based conflicts, what a person learns can become whom a person learns to hate. This book explores the unique position occupied by educators during protracted ethnic conflict. As transmitters of social authority, educators occupy a position in society capable of supporting repressive constructs or challenging social inequalities. Educators who are seen to legitimize the social order may be seen as symbolic markers of the dominant group, while educators who challenge the social order can be perceived as upstarts or threats that seek to subvert social authority. By surveying the perceptions, perspectives, experiences and opinions of Israeli tertiary teachers, this book explores the positionality of educators as agents who wield “both an instrument for oppression and a tool for liberation” (Alzaroo and Hunt 2003, 165). Peace education is a platform to achieve a global culture of peace by recognizing and delegitimizing violence. Using future visioning, this book considers that a primary obstruction to achieving peace is the ability to conceive of peace and asks three questions: do university educators challenge conflict narratives in the classroom? What obstacles exist to prevent educating for peace in Israel? How do educators imagine the future?  More information

Peace and Social Justice Education on Campus: Faculty and Student Perspectives (2015)

Editors: Kelly Concannon, Laura L. Finley

In identity-based conflicts, what a person learns can become whom a person learns to hate. This book provides important reflections by and for peace and social justice educators working on college campuses. Importantly, it also integrates the voices of students. More than a feel-good compilation of success stories, however, it illustrates the complexities inherent in teaching and learning about and for peace and social justice. Chapters in the book provide critical assessments of institutions, pedagogies, and practices, making visible the messy but very real spaces in which education and learning occur. Written by faculty and students from many disciplinary areas, the contributions discuss in-class and outside-of-class actions, providing a deeper understanding of best practices and challenges faced by both groups. Albeit in different ways that are reflective of the many different pedagogical approaches to peace and justice education, each chapter integrates ideas, concepts, and reflections from both faculty and students. The conclusion and appendix offer recommendations for future and additional resources for college and university faculty and students interested in learning more about peace and social justice.  More information