Peace and Conflict Studies (Co-Major)
An admissions moratorium is currently in effect for this program.
The Peace and Conflict Studies (PCS) Co-Major Program integrates a variety of practical courses and interdisciplinary research to allow students to combine their own majors with training, study, and experience in peace studies and the emerging field of conflict resolution, at the inter-personal, national and international levels. The curriculum deals with the most fundamental of human concerns: how to manage or resolve conflict constructively. Students are introduced to the causes of human conflict and violence, as well as approaches to conflict management ranging from diplomacy, law and negotiation, to mediation and arbitration. Questions are raised concerning the issues of globalization, social justice, non-violence, ethnicity, race, and culture.
The PCS curriculum provides a framework useful for careers in legal, educational, governmental, business, labor, social service, scientific and health professions, as well as in graduate and professional education. Students are offered opportunity for hands-on experience, and are encouraged to build adaptive skills useful for the future. Courses in this curriculum may also count toward the completion of University General Education Requirements, as well as College and Major Requirements.
Students are encouraged to participate in the development of their curriculum; in addition to selecting from a wide variety of suggested PCS electives, co-majors are able to choose other elective courses with prior consent of the Director. Students are also encouraged to participate in the Peace and Justice Student Learning Community, which organizes speakers and other special educational programs and events on various subjects, and to explore credit for internships and study abroad.
The program is designed around a set of core courses, which introduce the student to the field, including various approaches to peace studies and the application of conflict management methods, and finally which assess the student's overall progress in a senior research seminar project. Five courses in conflict-related elective courses are required, but students must have a minimum of three courses that are counting towards the PCS co-major elective requirements and are not fulfilling any other major, minor, or co-major requirements.
Core Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PCS 2000 | Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies | 3 |
| PCS 6000 | Senior Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies | 3 |
| Select two of the following (additional courses can count as electives): | 6-8 | |
| Black Social and Political Thought | ||
| World Cultures | ||
| International Trade | ||
| American Foreign Relations Since 1933 | ||
| Topics in Peace and Conflict Studies 1 | ||
| Science, Technology, and War | ||
| The Study of Non-Violence | ||
| Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery | ||
| Special Readings/Research | ||
| Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy | ||
| Introduction to Political Ideologies | ||
| World Politics | ||
| Ethnicity: The Politics of Conflict and Cooperation | ||
| Psychology of Social Behavior | ||
| Social Inequality | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3-4 | |
| Dispute Resolution | ||
| Community or International Internship | ||
| Advanced Special Topics | ||
| Five courses in conflicted-related elective courses 2 | 15-20 | |
| Total Credits | 30-38 | |
- 1
May be taken only once for core requirement, and repeated for electives.
- 2
Students must have a minimum of three courses that are counting towards the PCS co-major elective requirements and are not fulfilling any other major, minor, or co-major requirements. Permissible elective courses are listed in the WSU course bulletin, or can be approved in consultation with the program director.
Peace and Conflict-Related Elective Courses
The University offers a large number of conflict- and peace-related courses in its various Schools and Colleges that are suitable electives for this program. The student is encouraged to select courses that introduce them to a variety of cultural practices regarding the management of conflict. The following are appropriate for the co-major or minor; because new courses are created by faculty on a rolling basis, students are encouraged to consult with the director or the undergraduate advisor about any courses not on the following list which may be included in their major.
Race, Gender and Religion
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFS/SOC 2600 | Race and Racism in America | 3 |
| AFS 3420/PS 3820 | Pan Africanism: Politics of the Black Diaspora | 4 |
| AFS/SOC 5570 | Race Relations in Urban Society | 3 |
| ANT 3530 | Native Americans | 3 |
| ANT 5240 | Cross Cultural Study of Gender | 3 |
| COM 4250 | Reporting Race, Gender, and Culture | 3 |
| CRJ/GSW 2750 | Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice | 3 |
| HIS 2605/GSW 2600 | History of Women, Gender and Sexuality in the Modern World | 3 |
| HIS/AFS 3150 | African American History II: 1865-1968 | 3-4 |
| HIS 5200 | Women, Gender, and Sexuality in US History | 3 |
| HIS 5480/7480 | Nazi Germany | 3-4 |
| NE 6500 | Religion and Society | 3 |
| PS/AFS 5030 | African American Politics | 4 |
| PSY 3250 | Psychology of Gender | 3 |
| PSY/AFS 5700 | The Psychology of African Americans | 4 |
| SOC/AFS 5570 | Race Relations in Urban Society | 3 |
Peace and Conflict Theory
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANT 5140 | Biology and Culture | 3 |
| COM 3400 | Theories of Communication | 3 |
| CRJ 3800 | Criminological Theories | 3 |
| GER/SPA/FRE/ITA 2700 | Anguish and Commitment: European Existentialist Literature | 3-4 |
| PHI 2320 | Introduction to Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 3270 | Foundations of Law | 3 |
| PS 2460 | Policy and Rationality: Dilemmas of Choice | 4 |
| PS 3510 | Law, Authority and Rebellion | 4 |
| PS 3530 | Great Political Thinkers I | 4 |
| PS 6830 | Civil War and Conflict Processes | 3 |
| PSY 3040 | Psychology of Perception: Fundamental Processes | 3 |
| PSY/LIN 3080 | Cognitive Psychology: Fundamental Processes | 3 |
| PSY 3200 | Motivation, Feeling and Emotion | 3 |
| PSY 3310 | Abnormal Psychology | 4 |
| SOC 5870 | Violence in the Family | 3 |
Human Rights and Social Justice
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFS/SOC 2600 | Race and Racism in America | 3 |
| AFS/SOC 5580 | Law and the African American Experience | 4 |
| COM 2160 | Campaigns and Social Movements | 3 |
| CRJ 3200 | Police and Society | 3 |
| ECO 5490/HIS 5290 | American Labor History | 4 |
| LAS/HIS 2430 | History of Latino/as in the United States | 3 |
| PHI 3270 | Foundations of Law | 3 |
| PS 2420 | Ethics and Politics of Public Policy | 4 |
| PS 3520 | Justice | 4 |
| PS 5120 | Constitutional Rights and Liberties | 4 |
| PS 5850 | Human Rights | 4 |
| SOC/AFS 2600 | Race and Racism in America | 3 |
| SOC 5700 | Seminar in Social Inequality | 3 |
| SW 3110 | Diversity, Oppression and Social Justice | 3 |
International Issues in Peace and Conflict Studies
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFS 3610 | Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Foreign Culture: The Africans | 4 |
| ANT 3100 | World Cultures | 3 |
| ANT 3540 | Cultures and Societies of Latin America | 3 |
| ANT/NE 3550 | Arab Society in Transition | 3 |
| ECO 5300 | International Trade | 4 |
| ECO 5310 | International Finance | 4 |
| GPH/PS 2700/ENG 2670/HIS 2700 | Introduction to Canadian Studies | 3 |
| HIS 1400 | The World Since 1945 | 4 |
| HIS 1610 | African Civilizations Since 1800 | 3-4 |
| HIS/LAS 1910 | Latin America from Independence to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 3320 | Twentieth Century Middle East | 3 |
| HIS 5530/7530 | History of World War I and II: A Social and Political History of Two World Wars | 4 |
| JPN 4550 | Japanese Culture and Society I | 4 |
| JPN 4560 | Japanese Culture and Society II | 4 |
| NE 2040/HIS 1810 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| NE 5000/HIS 5960 | Globalization, Social History and Gender in the Arabian Gulf | 3 |
| PS/HIS/GPH 2700/ENG 2670 | Introduction to Canadian Studies | 3 |
| PS 2710 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 4 |
| PS 3710 | Politics of Western Europe | 4 |
| PS 3715 | Politics of Central and Eastern Europe | 4 |
| PS 3735 | Politics of Latin America | 4 |
| PS 3770 | Politics of East Asia | 4 |
| PS 3795 | Latin America in World Affairs | 4 |
| PS 3830 | War | 4 |
| PS 3835 | Middle East Conflict | 4 |
| PS 3991 | Directed Study: WSU-Salford Exchange | 3-9 |
| PS 4725 | Globalization and Politics | 4 |
| PS 4810 | Foreign Policies of Major Powers | 4 |
| PS 5820 | International Law | 4 |
| SLA/ARM/GER/POL/RUS 3410 | New Soil, Old Roots: The Immigrant Experience | 3 |
| SLA 3710 | Russian and East European Film | 3 |
Peace and Conflict Studies in the United States
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFS/GSW 5110 | Black Women in America | 3 |
| ECO 5480/6480 | Economics of Work | 3 |
| HIS 5200 | Women, Gender, and Sexuality in US History | 3 |
| HIS 5220 | The Changing Shape of Ethnic America: World War I to the Present | 3-4 |
| HIS 5290/ECO 5490 | American Labor History | 4 |
| PS/AFS 5030 | African American Politics | 4 |
| SOC/AFS 5570 | Race Relations in Urban Society | 3 |
| SOC 6750 | Sociology of Urban Health | 3 |
| US 2000/SOC 2500/GPH 2000/HIS/PS 2000 | Introduction to Urban Studies | 4 |
| UP 5650 | Metropolitan Detroit | 3 |
Peace Studies In Human Development
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANT/LIN 3310 | Language and Culture | 3 |
| ANT 5140 | Biology and Culture | 3 |
| ANT/LIN 5320 | Language and Societies | 3 |
| CRJ 3350/SOC 3840 | Corrections | 3 |
| CRJ 5500 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| PS 5560 | Biopolitics | 4 |
| PSY 2400 | Developmental Psychology | 4 |
| PSY 3310 | Abnormal Psychology | 4 |
| PSY 3350 | Psychology of Personality | 3 |
| SOC 2203 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| SOC 5400 | The Family | 3 |
| SOC 5870 | Violence in the Family | 3 |
| SW/ELE/PSY 6010 | Equitable Partnerships with Families and Communities | 3 |
Dispute Resolution
(assumes completion of PCS 5000)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COM 2200 | Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| COM 3250 | Introduction to Organizational Communication | 3 |
| COM 6220 | Dispute Resolution and Communication Technology | 3 |
| COM 6350 | Communication, Culture, and Conflict | 3 |
| CRJ 3110 | Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice | 3 |
| ELR 4500 | Applied Labor Studies | 3 |
| PS 3030 | Political Interest Groups | 4 |
| PS 3040 | The Legislative Process | 4 |
| PS 6070 | Labor and American Politics | 3 |
| PSY 2100 | Psychology and the Workplace | 3 |
| SW 1010 | Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare | 3 |