College pleased to offer the first post-secondary Peace Studies program in the province
JACQUIE BERG
Mar 14, 2022
As many worldwide seek answers as to the injustices being inflicted on the war-ravaged peoples of Ukraine, and elsewhere around the globe, attention naturally focuses not only on the causes, but also on much-needed negotiation for peace. “There is no more important time,” said instructor Dr. Lesya Sabada recently in an impassioned plea, “to encourage Peace Studies.”
St. Thomas More College (STM) recognizes that to ensure the best future we must provide students opportunity to address not only conflict origins but arm them with non-violent means of resolution.
After over a decade in the planning, initiated by College faculty committed to peace research and peace education, STM officially launched the Centre for Faith, Reason, Peace, and Justice (CFRPJ), in January 2021. Serving as a home for STM’s distinctive programs in the areas of Catholic Studies (CTST), Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good (SJCG), and Peace Studies, the College is pleased to now offer the first post-secondary Peace Studies program in the province – in addition to the certificate in Catholic Studies and minor in SJCG, already in place.
The focus and goals of STM’s CFRPJ, spoke to Irene Ositis-Schmeiser and led to her decision to support the initiative with a $1 million gift in December 2021. The newly named Irene and Doug Schmeiser Centre for Faith, Reason, Peace, and Justice extends Irene’s relationship with the College that goes back several decades.
“Peace Studies, alongside Catholic Studies, and Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good, all serve to cross-fertilize and address the key goals of a Catholic college,” said Dr. Gertrude Rompré, Director of Mission and Ministry at STM and Co-Director for the Centre. “We are very excited to see this take shape.”
Centre Co-Director Dr. Chris Hrynkow explains that Peace Studies focusses on both the analysis and creative transformation of conflict and injustice. “Within the field, peace is defined as not only the absence of war but also by positive conditions such as social justice, gender and racial equality, and ecological health. STM’s certificate in Peace Studies cultivates an interdisciplinary approach to the academic study of peace, conflict, (re)conciliation, the nature of substantive justice, and the practice of nonviolent resistance.”
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