Peace Studies at ASU
An initiative of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict
Q: What is "peace studies"?
Peace studies is a broad interdisciplinary field, potentially drawing upon most, if not all, academic disciplines. Peace Studies encompasses the study of humanity’s imagination of peace and efforts to construct peace across space and time. Understanding peace as a dynamic process, it includes many topics, such as: inner peace; interpersonal, intergroup and international relations; conflict resolution; nonviolence and alternatives to violence; and peace education.
Q: How do we study peace?
Rejecting views that peace comes through violence or war, this field explores the possibilities for peace expressed in philosophical, religious, social, political, and spiritual thought, as well as in diverse cultural and artistic forms, social movements, and institutions, both within and across borders. The Hardt-Nickachos Peace Studies Initiative at ASU's Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict shares a commitment to understanding and advancing those ideas, resources and practices that will contribute to a just and lasting peace. The initiative includes public programming, support for new course development, and student scholarships and fellowships.
Peace Studies in action:
Connecting the community
Engaging minds in the discussion of conflict & peacebuilding through public programs, conferences, and workshops
Building new knowledge
Fostering collaboration and advancing ideas, resources, and projects that will contribute to just and lasting peace
Preparing the future for peace
Empowering the next generation of students with the skills, knowledge, and perspective to contribute to a more peaceable future
Featured publications:
People's Peace: Prospects for a Human Future
Edited by Yasmin Saikia and Chad Haines
(Syracuse University Press, 2019)
Women and Peace in the Islamic World Gender, Agency and Influence
Edited by Yasmin Saikia and Chad Haines
(London: I.B. Tauris, 2015)
Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh: Remembering 1971
Yasmin Saikia
(Duke University Press, Durham, 2011)