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Peace and Justice Major

Nazareth Strengths

Example Careers/Outcomes

  • Government
  • Diplomacy
  • Relief service
  • Peace Corps
  • Graduate work in international relations and religious studies
  • Organic farming

Internships/Field Experiences

  • Iraq Vets Against the War, Rochester, NY
  • Fiacre Gardens Microfarm, Rochester, NY
  • Partners in Restorative Initiatives, Rochester, NY
  • United Nations Association of Germany, Berlin, Germany

Beyond Self

  • Approximately 91% of Nazareth undergraduates participate in community service while they are students.
  • Nazareth is one of the few schools to have an on-campus Center for Civic Engagement.

Alumni Spotlight

Ashley ErnstAshley Ernst '11
“I’m going to educate myself on things I really care about—I’m getting an education, not a degree.”

Is peace always the solution? What are the economics of war? What role does race play in criminal justice? How do you practice conflict resolution in daily life? These are just a few of the questions students explore in Nazareth's Peace & Justice Studies program.

Why Choose Nazareth for Peace and Justice Studies?

Only three years old, this provocative program examines the way human beings resolve conflict and work towards justice. Students apply what they learn in their peace and justice courses to a core liberal arts concentration. For example, they might weave in philosophy, political science, and economics to study peace and justice as it relates to ethical theory, political justice, and class conflict.

The program demands a high level of academic rigor and reflection, and two semesters of service work in an area of social justice or community organizing. Past internships have been with Metro Justice, St. Joseph's House of Hospitality, and Action for a Better Community. A senior seminar on nonviolence serves as the capstone course, which studies the works of Martin Luther King and Gandhi, among others.

Program Highlights

  • Strong liberal arts curriculum with related courses in English literature, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, History, Economics, and other humanities.
  • Emphasis on writing and critical thinking.
  • 6-credit foreign language requirement.
  • Seniors can take a capstone course on non-violence where they are required to write a senior thesis.
  • A two-semester community service internship, where students use what they learn in their other courses to reflect on the significance of their service work.

Program Director

Harry Murray
585-389-2760
hmurray9@naz.edu

Dr. Murray received his A.B. in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross, his M.R.P. in City Planning from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Sociology from Syracuse University. His teaching and research interests include social problems, crime and justice, deviance, sociology of religion, social movements, social research methods, and non-violence.

Typical Class Schedule

Freshman Year

  • Modern Foreign Languages Credits: 6
  • Perspectives I Credits: 3
  • Math and Science Perspectives I Credits: 7
  • Religious Studies Perspectives I Credits: 3

As well as:

  • ENGW 101 - College Writing I: Exposition
  • ENGW 102 - College Writing II: Argument & Research
  • ACS 101 - Academic and College Success
  • FYS course taken with ACS 101
  • RES 333 - PII Peace and Justice

Sophomore Year

  • Perspectives I Credits: 12
  • Perspectives II Credits: 3
  • PAJ Concentration course Credits: 3
  • Liberal Arts Elective Credits:6

As well as:

  • PAJ 202 Conflict Resolution (new course)

And one of the following three:

  • PHL 312 - PII Ethics
  • RES 233 - PII Ethics in Christianity
  • RES 332 - PII Living Well: Ethics in the World's Religions

Junior Year

  • Perspectives II Math or Science Credits: 3
  • Perspectives II Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Elective Credits: 3
  • Electives Credits: 6

As well as:

  • PAJ 398 Community Service Internship I (new course)
  • PAJ 399 Community Service Internship II (new course)
  • PHL 303 - PII Political Philosophy: Plato to Machiavelli
  • RES 331 - PII Liberation Thought: Empowerment, Solidarity, and Praxis

Senior Year

  • Liberal Arts Elective Credits: 3
  • Electives Credits: 18
  • Peace and Justice Concentration Courses Credits: 6

As well as:

  • PAJ 444 Seminar on Nonviolence (new course)
  • PAJ 499 Senior Comprehensive (new course)
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