Columbus Day Conference at Manhattan Promotes Peace and Justice
Lisa Bernier
Issue date: 10/18/06 Section: Features
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During the Columbus Day weekend, the Peace Studies department hosted the Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference in Smith Auditorium. The conference went on throughout the long weekend, with lectures and film screenings regarding peace movements around the world.
Sunday, October 8 is when the PJSA Conference ended its four-day run at Manhattan College. PJSA, or the Peace and Justice Studies Association, is a coalition barely five years in existence. Sunday's event was their fifth official conference held under that name. Previously, the Peace Studies Association (PSA) and The Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development(COPRED)- two distinct groups that had coexisted in North America-- held joint conferences.
The conference's theme, "Who Speaks for the Common Good?," encompassed various topics within peace and justice studies. During the weekend, Dr. Julie Pycior, professor of history, and Dr. June Dwyer, professor of English, chaired panels about immigrant worker rights and teaching peace and the common good through literature.
Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy and Mother Teresa: A Life of Love. They would have seen a man in the corner, sitting behind a table littered with African jewelry on sale for $15 or less. All of it supported the non-profit Let's Go Africa Foundation, which immerses African students in socially-conscious exchange programs.
Both organizations aimed to provide leadership in peace, conflict, and justice studies, and as co-chair of PJSA Matt Meyer put it, it was only sensible that the two groups merge. Meyer added that the merge was a remarkable feat of cooperation, since large academic groups often have difficulty integrating.
Large talks featuring star speakers were held in Smith. Topics ranged from "Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America" to a film-screening of Henoko, Maehyang-ri, Yausubetsu, "Marines, Go Home," in English.. The film-makers attended the screening and were also at a reception before the picture was shown.
Sunday, October 8 is when the PJSA Conference ended its four-day run at Manhattan College. PJSA, or the Peace and Justice Studies Association, is a coalition barely five years in existence. Sunday's event was their fifth official conference held under that name. Previously, the Peace Studies Association (PSA) and The Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development(COPRED)- two distinct groups that had coexisted in North America-- held joint conferences.
The conference's theme, "Who Speaks for the Common Good?," encompassed various topics within peace and justice studies. During the weekend, Dr. Julie Pycior, professor of history, and Dr. June Dwyer, professor of English, chaired panels about immigrant worker rights and teaching peace and the common good through literature.
Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy and Mother Teresa: A Life of Love. They would have seen a man in the corner, sitting behind a table littered with African jewelry on sale for $15 or less. All of it supported the non-profit Let's Go Africa Foundation, which immerses African students in socially-conscious exchange programs.
Both organizations aimed to provide leadership in peace, conflict, and justice studies, and as co-chair of PJSA Matt Meyer put it, it was only sensible that the two groups merge. Meyer added that the merge was a remarkable feat of cooperation, since large academic groups often have difficulty integrating.
Large talks featuring star speakers were held in Smith. Topics ranged from "Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America" to a film-screening of Henoko, Maehyang-ri, Yausubetsu, "Marines, Go Home," in English.. The film-makers attended the screening and were also at a reception before the picture was shown.