Peace and Justice Studies

Peace and Justice Studies at the University of Montevallo examines causes and consequences of economic disparity, institutionalized inequality, and strategies of peace building and conflict resolution.

UM’s location at the heart of the civil rights triangle in rural Alabama and our institutional history of working toward gender equity and inclusivity provides unique opportunities to pursue the work of a peace and justice studies minor. Our students explore community issues within global contexts to critically analyze race, gender, and class relations.

We offer students spaces for experiential education and community partnerships as well as scholarly engagement to learn the history of and techniques for conflict resolution, mediation, social change, and critical thinking. Minors may enhance their major field of study through our social justice framework and go on to become negotiators, community mediators, government officials, educators, businesspeople, organizers, and professionals in organizations focused on human rights, dispute resolution, environmental protection, international law, and human and economic development.

Peace and Justice Studies at the University of Montevallo examines causes andconsequences of economic disparity, institutionalized inequality, and strategies of peace building and conflict resolution.

UM’s location at the heart of the civil rights triangle in rural Alabama and our institutional history of working toward gender equity and inclusivity provides unique opportunities to pursue the work of a peace and justice studies minor. Our students explore community issues within global contexts to critically analyze race, gender, and class relations.

We offer students spaces for experiential education and community partnerships as well as scholarly engagement to learn the history of and techniques for conflict resolution, mediation, social change, and critical thinking. Minors may enhance their major field of study through our social justice framework and go on to become negotiators, community mediators, government officials, educators, businesspeople, organizers, and professionals in organizations focused on human rights, dispute resolution, environmental protection, international law, and human and economic development.

Recommended Events – Spring 2025

January 14 – February 22 — Americans and the Holocaust Traveling Exhibition

Carmichael Library, Main Floor

January 28 — Uncovering Lost Voices: African American Involvement During the Holocaust, Dr. Greg Samuels and Dr. Amy Samuels

Carmichael Library, J.A. Brown room, 6 pm

January 30 — Philosophy Social

Humanities Hall, Room 202, 5–6 pm

February 2 — Creativity our Own Way: Black Creativity Now, Then & Beyond

Song Center for the Arts, Auditorium, 2–4 pm

February 18 — Mindful Movement – Finding Joy in the Body

Song Center for the Arts, Dance Studio, 5:30–7 pm

February 20 — AAUW Welcomes Dr. Maxine Morgan, A Talk in Honor of Black History Month

Carmichael Library J.A. Brown Room, 1–2 pm

Mar 12 — Gratitude – Shifting Focus from Stress to Appreciation

Song Center for the Arts, Dance Studio, 5:30–7 pm

April 16 — Integration – Building a Self-Compassion Toolkit

Song Center for the Arts, Dance Studio, 5:30–7 pm

Carmichael Library J.A. Brown Room, 3:30 pm

Course Requirements

PJS 200 Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies (3 credits) – required

Exploration of issues, methods, and terminology essential to Peace and Justice Studies. Consists of readings, projects, and lecture-based study. Interdisciplinary course taught by UM professors in selected fields.

PJS 370/470 Special Topics in Peace and Justice Studies (3 credits) – required

Topics vary. Course may be repeated for credit as often as the topic changes.

Electives (12 credits) – list of approved electives announced each semester

Students must take four elective courses in at least three different disciplines. No more than two courses may be taken in any one discipline (includes cross-listings).

• AAS 200 – Introduction to African American Studies
• ART 326 – Special Topics**
• BIO 405 – Biological Topics in Environmental Studies**
• BL 283 – Legal Environment of Business
• COMS 141 – Interpersonal Communication
• COMS 355 – Intercultural Communication
• COMS 410 – Environmental Communication
• COMS 420 – Interpersonal Conflict Management
• COMS 435 – Social Movement Rhetoric
• COMS 460 – Seminar in Communication Studies**
• ENG 232 – Global Literature: Perspectives Within a Period or Location**
• ENG 405 – Studies in One or Two Authors**
• ENG 471 – African-American Literature
• ENG 472 – Literature from the Margins
• ENG 473 – Postcolonial Literature
• ENG 474 – Anglophone Literature**
• ENG 475 – Literature of Sexuality and Gender**
• ES 200 – Environment and Society
• ES 300 – Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Studies
• HIST 424 – Colonial Latin America
• PHIL 220 – Ethics
• PHIL 300 – Special Topics in Philosophy**
• POS 333 – Gender in World Politics
• POS 335 – Identity Politics
• POS 340 – World Politics
• POS 350 – Model United Nations
• POS 360 – Citizenship and Public Service
• POS 446 – The Politics of Social Policy
• POS 455 – International Relations
• SOC 322 – Group Identities, Power and Difference
• SOC 324 – Social Stratification
• SOC 360 – Social Change
• MG 308 – Business and Society
• MG 371 – Nonprofit Organizations
• MG 400 – Globalization: National and International Issues
• MG 420 – Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
• MG 464 – Leadership and Organizational Change**
• NPS 371 – Nonprofit Organizations – Overview and Operations
• NPS 420 – Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
• SWK 203 – Introduction to Social Welfare and Social Work
• SWK 301 – Selected Topics in Social Work**
• SWK 373 – Social Policy

**Requires approval by PJS Coordinating Committee

Total: 18 credits

PJS Courses Fall 2025

PJS 200 Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies, Rickel & Vazquez-Gonzalez

MW 2–3:15 pm

This introduction to peace and justice studies will survey causes and consequences of economic disparity, institutionalized inequality, and strategies of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Faculty from multiple disciplines will lead class discussions about both global and local forms of institutionalized inequality, the many causes of violence and conflict, and the impacts of nonviolent protest and social activism. This course will take advantage of UM’s location at the heart of the civil rights triangle by applying class content within the community and referring to those community experiences to deepen critical analysis of race, gender, and class relations both locally and globally.

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COMS-410-001/ES-423-001/PJS 470 Environmental Comm, Dr. Sally Bennett Hardig

MW 2–3:15pm, Strong Hall 115

This course begins with the presumption that the language and rhetorical strategies used in environmental discourse powerfully affect our perceptions of ourselves and of our relationships with the natural world. During this semester we will analyze and reflect on perceptions of these relationships in our own lives and communities through various assignments and activities. We will also examine various contexts, styles, and strategies of communication focusing on how language and symbols are used to shape public perception and policy on environmental issues. In addition to analysis, we will explore and apply a variety of communication practices including deliberative communication and advocacy.

ENG 457/557/PJS 470 Technical Writing for Social Justice Organizations, Mwenja

Technical writers work in many professional settings to communicate information about specialized topics to a wide variety of audiences. In this course, students learn to develop and refine common document types used by technical writers—including memos, reports, descriptions, instructions, and proposals—giving particular attention to the ways that social justice organizations employ these types of writing.

Drawing on material from our course text, The Insider’s Guide to Technical Writing, along with academic articles about technical writing provided in the Canvas course shell, students will examine model texts taken from social justice organization publications, then replicate the texts for the social justice organizations of their choice.

Students who successfully complete this course will

• Devise a comprehensive definition of technical writing as it is used by social justice organizations
• Define and apply concepts of audience, context, and rhetorical situation while composing technical documents
• Effectively employ principles of visual and textual document design
• Develop texts that meet expectations for various technical and professional document genres
• Comprehensively edit and proofread technical documents
• Evaluate legal and ethical issues involved in writing for professional and technical audiences

ENG 471/PJS 470 Soul Food Lit – The Intersections of African American Literature and Foodways with PJS, Dr. M. Maxine Morgan

TR 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM

In this course, we will read a variety of African American literature, and through close reading, interpret what food in these literatures reveals and reflects about the dynamism of Black peoples, identity, and culture. We will read novels, short stories, excerpts, and poetry alongside cookbooks and recipes to consider how the foods and practices of cooking and eating therein locate Black literary, aesthetic, and culinary traditions. Engaging Black feminist literary criticism, African American literary theory, and scholarship on African American foodways, we critically examine the meaning and utility of foods in African American literature to question and defend how these foods have been shaped by and reflect African diasporic experiences and culinary histories. Using a chronological approach, we will invest time in the soul (1960-1975) & post-soul (1975-present) eras to define and discuss soul food as an African diasporic cuisine and its significance in African American literary traditions and methods of survival. We will engage and discuss scholarships and artifacts (artwork, music, performance, fashion, etc.) of these eras to understand the contours of their defining and their aesthetic contributions to conceptualize if, how, and through what cultural context the foods present in our texts are soul foods. Using our cultural texts as a frame and food—particularly soul food—as a lens, we will interrogate the intersections of race, gender, region, sexuality, and socioeconomic status and explore constructions of Blackness, selfhood, community, agency, and survival in African American literature.

HIST 473/PJS 470 African American History, Tucker

MW 2-3:15

Examines the experience of blacks in America from 1619 to present, with special attention to slavery, emancipation, segregation, race, leadership, and the Civil Rights Movement. Prerequisite(s): HIST 101 and HIST 102. Fall Semester.

THEA 450/PJS 470 Beyond the Stage: Theatrical Practice and Community Impact, Brunow

In this dynamic class, students learn how theatre experiences, whether in classroom or community, build connection with learners of all ages. From facilitation to civic artistry, this is a semester of on-your-feet dramatic exploration and collaboration challenging students to apply theatre in newly meaningful ways.

2024-2025 Peace and Justice Studies Committee Members

The charge of the Peace and Justice Studies Committee is to guide and support the interdisciplinary Peace and Justice Studies Program. Peace and justice studies at University of Montevallo will examine causes and consequences of economic disparity, institutionalized inequality, and strategies of peace building and conflict resolution. Specifically, committee members will develop and approve peace and justice course curricula; teach, co-teach, or guest lecture courses for credit in the Peace and JusticeStudies Program; assist with creating, utilizing, and maintaining community partnerships; and serve as ambassadors of the Peace and Justice Studies Program on the University of Montevallo campus and in the community. The committee will approve by consensus the courses accepted for credit in the Peace and Justice Studies Program on a semester-by-semester basis. The committee member structure is designed to collaborate with and enhance other programs on and off campus and to co-sponsor events and activities related to peace and justice scholarship and practice. The committee reports to the Provost.