As Colman McCarthy writes in All of One Peace, "If peace is what every government says it seeks, and peace is the yearning of every heart, why aren't we studying it and teaching it in schools?"

Here at Oberlin College, we have a history of activism and progressive work, yet there is no major, department, concentration, or other program of study that specifically addresses the topic of peace and non-violence.  In an increasingly global society where war, conflict, and how we relate to one another are all pressing issues, it is more and more important to study reconciliation and global communication.  Despite this need, Oberlin lacks any cohesive academic program to address peace studies.

This unfilled space is where the Development Group comes in.  Its members, both students and community members, are working toward the establishment of a Peace and Conflict Studies concentration at Oberlin College.  To that end, we have offered and continue to offer Exco courses on various aspects of peace and nonviolence.  We have also sponsored a Peace and Conflict Studies Symposium that concentrated on the academic aspects of launching such a  concentration.

The eventual PACS program would work as an interdisciplinary, interconnected concentration to address issues of non-violence and peace, as well as global perspectives and social justice.  It would enable students to study a variety of issues already raised by many departments at Oberlin - Comparative American Studies and International Studies, for instance - with the added and imperative inclusion of the study of non-violence.  Oberlin has always been concerned with a commitment to current social questions, diversity, and internationalism, as well as the belief that individuals have the power to change their societies, and the world at large, for the better.  A concentration in peace studies would adhere to these principles and better challenge and encourage students' development of skills they will need in a diverse and global society, as well as advance students' social consciousness and awareness of how to not only live in the world, but better it.

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