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Peace & Justice Studies Assoc.
Prescott College
220 Grove Ave.
Prescott, AZ 86301
Phone: (928)350-2008
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2009 PJSA Conference Home
Call for Proposals
"Exploring the Power of Nonviolence"
7th Annual Conference of the
Peace and Justice Studies Association
October 8-10, 2009
Marquette University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
~ Submit a Late Proposal ~
Proposals are encouraged from a wide range of disciplines that address topics relevant to promoting nonviolent communities and practices. Proposals are especially welcomed addressing the nature, history, and skills of nonviolent approaches to resolving and managing conflict, as well as ones that focus on economic and environmental justice, faith communities and nonviolence, and education in nonviolence at all levels including community education.
We seek proposals for creative and dynamic workshops, panels, films, displays, and other formats. The conference will also include a focus on grassroots organizations, working with individuals and groups in the region to help develop a bridge from dialogue to action. Plenary panels, breakout groups, brainstorming sessions, and an impressive list of keynote speakers will offer multiple points of engagement and opportunities for networking with scholars, activists, and educators in the pursuit of peace and justice.
Join us in exploring these rich subjects in all their myriad forms, through the lens of historical narratives, current incarnations, and potential future applications to the struggles toward peace and justice in local settings and across the globe.
Deadline for submissions has passed but we will consider late proposals, which, if accepted, will be placed in the program if space permits.
Proposals must be submitted using our online form. Questions can be directed to info@peacejusticestudies.org (please put "conference proposal" in the subject line).
Description of Streams/Tracks
Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice
Justice institutions are, by their very nature, coercive. In what ways can the power of nonviolence transcend history and dominant control paradigm and be made relevant to the practice of domestic and international criminal justice? Efforts in the area of restorative justice represent an attempt to prioritize non-coercive and collective technologies at both healing the wounds from crime and preventing future offending, but much remains to be explored. Works in the areas of restorative justice, transformative justice, and peacemaking criminology would belong under this category. For example, submissions in this area might address the capacity-building potential of justice organizations and processes, traditional practices for ameliorating harm and reintegrating harmers, or efforts within justice organizations to make justice service more compassionate.
The Gandhian Tradition
From at least the time of Ashoka to the present, and in every corner of the world, nonviolent action has been the most effective means of affecting social change available to those who saw the need for change. The power of nonviolence derives in part from its ability to humanize oppressors and oppressed alike. Mohandas Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement, author of satyagraha, and symbol for billions of people who seek to liberate or be liberated, has been the inspiration for a body of literature dedicated to offering exposition of his ideas, as well as treatment of historical examples of satyagrahi in action. Works submitted in this track should make rich use of the ideas of the Mahatma, or of the theoretical discourse that has grown from them.
Food Justice
The ethical and healthy provision of quality food and water to all humans is an emergent and under-examined area of justice discourse. Access to healthy food and clean water is unevenly distributed globally. Many food-production techniques employed to supply food to the global north are ethically challengeable, and likely may contribute to numerous health problems. Levels of consumption in the global north relative to caloric need are out of balance with the staggering scale of world hunger. Topics for this area include issues in developing community gardens, ethical food production, and resource redistribution.
The Role of International Organizations
Organizations are the levers by which the world is moved. Or not. What can be done to increase the capacity of international organizations to help realize humanizing change? In what ways do international organizations need to change themselves in order to actualize their potential? Works in this area may address structure, resources, cooptation, collaboration, leadership, critique, mission, or implementation.
A Dialogue with the Future
A new administration assumed the mantle of leadership in America in the past several months, one that is likely to be more receptive to overtures to peacemaking efforts. Works in this area will explore different ways of working within the current world context in order to create a more peaceful and nonviolent future.
Cultivating Nonviolence
One of the greatest challenges to seekers of humanizing social change is implementation. What are the fundamental precursors for creating a culture that values nonviolence? Are there best practices for creating nonviolent change movements? Works submitted in this area will discuss a wide variety of practical and technical issues relevant to implementing nonviolent change efforts, as well as how to create a more nonviolent culture.
Nonviolence Pedagogy
Perhaps no more effective tool for the cultivation of a peaceful world is education, and in particular nonviolence education. Works in this area will be relevant to the teaching of nonviolence at all levels, including lesson planning, creative projects, curricular issues, program construction, and administrative issues.