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Praxis Project is designed to be taken alongside another course to help students think through projects, programs, and/or interventions. Throughout the course, students will explore the MasterMind methodology and receive training in leading and participating in a MasterMind group, explore Human Systems Dynamics and the concept of the “the next wise step,” and live into trauma-informed and resilient interpersonal engagement.
Praxis Project is a one- or two-credit pass/fail course; whether a student passes or fails is determined by whether a student attends course online sessions, and whether assignments are turned in on time, and meet all requirements laid out in the assignment’s guidance note.View Syllabus
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PAX 509 Praxis: Capstone (1 SH)The intent and design of Praxis: Capstone is to provide guided reflection in four areas: 1) Being a reflexive practitioner in transformational leadership; 2) Integrating and evaluating theories of change in their project context; 3) Adapting to emergent contexts with critical theory lenses; 4) Revisit and review goals and reflections on vocation explored in PAX 507.
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Praxis: Capstone is a one-credit pass/fail course; whether a student passes or fails is determined by whether a student attends synchronous sessions and whether assignments are turned in on time, and meet all requirements laid out in the assignment’s guidance note.View Syllabus
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PAX 516 Program Evaluation Through Qualitative Research (3 SH)This blended course is designed to help undergraduate and graduate students understand and practice the implementation of program evaluation through the methodologies of qualitative research. Historic and contemporary sociological and anthropological approaches (Western and Indigenous) will provide the theoretical and philosophical background for our work, but the focus will be on practical applications of qualitative methodology in evaluation. Students will practice conducting structured and semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, coding interview transcripts, and will practice designing an evaluation: working with a client, determining appropriate methods, collecting data, analyzing the data, interpreting the data, and communicating the findings. This course complements, but does not take the place of other research and evaluation courses that focus entirely on either research or evaluation.
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This course is not available for reduced credit or professional development. In addition to this course, students will be strongly advised to take one of the existing applied research project courses or complete a research project as part of another course or their practicum placement.View Syllabus
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PAX 540 STAR Level 1 (2-3 SH)Whether working in advocacy, healthcare, education, government, care-giving, activism, or in any kind of leadership or community building capacity, stressors add up - particularly in the midst (and aftermath?) of pandemic. Research and experience demonstrate that unaddressed trauma often leads to conflict and violence against self or with others, as trauma-affected people act out against others or become self-destructive. STAR combines theory with experiential learning to increase awareness of the impacts of trauma on the body, brain, beliefs and behaviors. The course offers tools for addressing trauma and breaking cycles of violence.
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PAX 568 Transformational Leadership for Social Change (3 SH) The complex, dynamic, and frequently chaotic contexts of the 21st century call for approaches to leadership that go beyond the individualistic, competitive and exclusive leadership paradigm after which many roles are often modeled. Social change in fast-paced and interdependent contexts requires a concerted collective effort to identify problems, envision new scenarios, articulate networks and set forth movements that inspire more just and flourishing societies. The challenges of social change demand new approaches to leadership.
In this course, we look at some of the challenges facing communities, such as increasing inequality, climate change, discrimination and oppressive power dynamics, and explore leadership approaches that can be transformational in leading social change. We discuss and experiment with leadership skills such as empathy, inclusivity, fairness, adaptability and creativity, vulnerability, curiosity, and reflect how transformational leaders can foment sustainable change in different areas, from the intra-personal to the communitarian, organizational (for-profit and not for profit), and society.
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PAX 570 Community Organizing and Nonviolent Mobilization for Social Change (3 SH)Recent years have witnessed a wide range of community organizing and nonviolent campaigns and movements across the world. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. ~ Martin Luther King Jr That’s all nonviolence is – organized love. ~ Joan Baez
Community organizing is fundamentally a project of power building within and among groups of people marginalized from existing power structures. Community building is a great example of non-violent mobilization for sustainable change. This course is an introduction to the history, theories, and tactics of community organizing in the United States since the early 20th century. Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented range and number of nonviolent campaigns and movements across the world. There is so much to learn from and contribute to! What does it take to create sustainable social change in the face of institutional and political resistance? What does it mean to work towards the vision of a nonviolent world? In this course, we look at the power of people to effect change through social movements using strategic nonviolence, direct action, community organizing, and advocacy. We begin by asking what community is and how power functions and proceed to learn about issues, tactics, and campaigns that have been used in fights for local change over the past century and continue to be used today. We examine the examine the theory, practice, history, and research behind nonviolent campaigns and social movementsnonviolence; revisit and reframe classic debates; explore case studies and our own experiences; practice key assessment, planning, and tactical skills; and apply what we have learned to issues we care about. We work to understand how local concerns and campaigns to address them are situated within larger structures of power and inequality. We also consider how nonviolence needs to synergize peacebuilding approaches to be effective.
In addition to engaging in classroom discussions and activities, readings and The course is designed to deepen students’ knowledge and skills in community development practice with an emphasis on learning skills to awaken power and build leadership. The course is grounded in the popular pedagogy of Paulo Friere to understand and honor the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of local communities. Popular education methods apply a problem-focused approach to action where community members reflect on a shared problem, plan a response to that problem and further reflect on the process and outcome of their action. To be able to successfully apply this method, this course will help students deepen their skills in critical social analysis, community engagement, popular education methodology, and group processes for community change.
In addition to engaging in classroom discussions and activities, readings and multimedia resources, and group research and presentations on real-life scenarios, opportunities to contribute to planning and carrying out an action or participating in small campaigns (in Harrisonburg) will be built into the learning experience. This includes a weekend trip to Washington DC to participate in the advocacy and lobbying efforts with government representatives. [This course is cross-listed with undergraduate course SOC-470.]
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PAX 571 Restorative Justice: Principles, Theories & Applications (3 SH)This course provides a critical examination of the values, principles, and practices of restorative justice. It provides a unique opportunity to explore the philosophy of restorative justice from various perspectives, and as it is applied in various contexts. Our primary starting point is the U.S. criminal legal system and the problems posed by its dominant responses to harm and violence. We examine how restorative justice presents a contrasting philosophy of justice that addresses the needs of multiple stakeholders, draws from faith-based and indigenous approaches, and challenges interpersonal and structural forms of harm. We also explore intersections and applications of restorative justice with multiple fields and movements including racial justice, trauma healing, education, youth development, and transitional justice.
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PAX 585 Global Development (3 SH)This course introduces
you to the field of global development through examining both the history of the field and the current debates and challenges faced by development practitioners. The purpose is to explore and critically evaluate the basic assumptions underlying the competing theories and current approaches towards alleviating poverty and global inequality. This course approaches the phenomenon of development in its broadest sense as the study of change, with attention to global justice, equity, and the historical links between development, colonialism, and global capitalism. In the course, we will explore what development means, how to measure it, and how to understand attempts to balance between economic, ecological, and equity concerns. The course engages the key propositions that emerge in contemporary development debates, and offers frameworks for evaluating theories, interventions and policies. With attention to power relations, we will consider critiques of the development project sensitive to race, gender, ecology and other political economy traditions, in dialogue with the dominant understanding of development as technical interventions for enhancing the market mechanism. This will provide a foundation for uncovering and assessing social and political structures, institutions, inequalities, and development policies as theories meet practice. [This course is cross-listed with undergraduate course PXD-485.]
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PAX 601 Mediation and Negotiation (3 SH) Negotiation is the fundamental process by which human beings discern how to resolve differences and move forward together—whether in a family, a local community, an organization, a society, or a world community. Mediation adds a third party to the negotiation process, and has proven remarkably effective in resolving and even transforming certain disputes. This course will train participants to be effective negotiators and to serve as impartial mediators, but will also explore the varying contexts in which these processes take place and the variety of perspectives and worldviews that parties bring to a negotiation or mediation process.
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This course is designed for participants enrolled in CJP’s graduate studies program and presumes knowledge of basic conflict analysis and peacebuilding concepts and methods. As such, Foundations 1 or an equivalent course is preferred. This class qualifies as a skills assessment course for the CJP MA degree.View SyllabusCJP MA degree.
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PAX 615 Leading Organizational Change (3 SH)Whether for-profit, not-for-profit, or governmental, every organization today exists in a rapidly changing set of environments. Organizations that fail to adapt to these changes face decline and eventual death. However, organizations that lurch reactively from crisis to crisis are equally vulnerable to being selected out. Organizations require leaders able to steer the organization through adaptive change processes in ways congruent with the organization’s deepest values. This seminar course will equip participants with the tools to understand organizational systems, to assess their changing environments, and to lead adaptive change processes. It is based on the theory and research of the organizational development field and the emerging literature regarding complex adaptive systems, as well as on the lived experience of participants. Seminar participants will accompany local organizations through assessment and intervention processes, gaining hands-on experience in leading change.
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Action and struggle for justice and peacebuilding are always found in peoples’ local, place-based experiences, but to gain understanding in order to effect change, we have to explore their global features. To do this we will examine the intersections and overlaps among the local and the global, including the transnational solidarities that connect local struggles around the world. Students will become familiar with theories and frameworks that help explain the causes and dynamics of larger-scale conflicts, injustice, and structural violence. Students will work individually and in small groups to apply these ideas and skills to cases that progress in complexity from the community to the national and global levels (and back again). Students will also continue to develop their self-awareness as well as their capacity for professional judgment and reflective practice with attention to vocation, values, ethics, faith and spirituality.
This course is required for all MACT and MARJ students.
Please note: for for the 2022-2023 year academic year, PAX 635 plus a 3 credit hour course from an approved list will satisfy the Foundations 2 sequence. View Syllabus
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PAX 640 STAR Level 2 (2-3 SH)Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) Level 2 invites people who have started to bring trauma awareness into their life and work for greater resilience to deepen their knowledge and skills. In Level 2, participants have a chance to:
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PAX 673 Independent Study (1-3 SH)Course work undertaken through independent study must be approved by the student’s academic advisor and completed in collaboration with a supervising instructor....
PAX 676 Restorative Justice Practices (3 SH)Restorative
justice Justice originated as a
practice-based discipline. Awareness of restorative justice continues to expand the opportunities . In the following decades, the field expanded to include theory and research of RJ. At the core of any restorative practice, is a focus on steps to identify and address harms
while finding ways to bring healing and
to make amends
in all sectors of personal, community, professional, and institutional settings. Whilst considered a ‘practice’ in models such as . The course will be framed by four key values of RJ: inclusion, encounter, amends, and reintegration. The content of the course will be embedded in the foundational practice models that drive the Restorative Justice field like Victim Offender Conferencing/Dialogue, Family Group Conferencing, and Circle Processes
, this course also explores restorative justice principles prevalent in emerging professions, work environments, community, and educational settings.The emphasis of this course is developing yourself as a practitioner. Students will achieve this through active . The class will explore structural applications of RJ philosophy, principles and practices in diverse situations: in educational settings, with justice involved individuals, and among members of various communities who experience harm. The emphasis throughout the semester is on each students’ development as a practitioner. Sessions are set up to introduce, discuss and showcase various practice models in a variety of settings. RJ professionals will share knowledge and expertise derived from years of practicing in their field. Students will derive competence through engagement of case studies, developing a resource toolbox, reflective self- assessment, group feedback, peer and instructor feedback, engaging with professionals, and most importantly, practice as a facilitator.
For MA in Conflict Transformation or Restorative Justice, students this satisfies the skills assessment course requirement if taken for 3 credits, and is a required course for all students enrolled in the MA and Certificate in Restorative Justice programs. PAX 571 Restorative Justice is a prerequisite for this class unless special permission granted.View Syllabus
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PAX 677 Restorative Justice & Whole Systems Approaches (3 SH)The reemergence of Restorative Justice (RJ) in the last 40+ years initially focused on interpersonal harm and violence, yet, more recently, is expanding to include collective harms caused by governments, corporations, or institutions against marginalized people. Rather than conceiving it as a method of ‘social reform’, if we understand RJ as a ‘social movement’ and study and apply it in that context, there is a greater potential for both serious interpersonal and structural transformation. This course is designed to empower RJ practitioners and theorists who are prepared to position themselves as change agents for justice systems shifts. This course will examine the relationship between institutional and interpersonal harms and dissect systemic harm that is an end result. Through case study research and discussions, we will explore the potential benefits and limitations of restorative and transitional justice principles and practices in building areas of accountability for systemic harms. Students will work collaboratively through a specific case study to identify and create theories of change for systemic transformation of a carceral system. The knowledge gained from the case study will then be applied to areas of personal interest through a three-phase process, culminating in a final project and presentation.
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This course explores the intersections of religion and peacebuilding based on the recently published Religious Peacebuilding Action Guides as core texts. These include “Analysis of Religion in Conflict and Peacebuilding,” “Religion and Mediation,” “Religion and Reconciliation,” and “Religion and Gender.” Taught by the series editor of the Guides and a peacebuilding practitioner with a multi-faith background, the course offers practical frameworks and tools for religious and secular peacebuilders' understanding and application to analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation. The course It integrates interactive exercises, peer learning, guest lecturers, and case studies from a variety of religious contexts.
This course welcomes, and is meant to be of value to, individuals of all religious, spiritual, and secular identities without holding any particular belief system as more superior or normative than the other. Building shared trust, intentions, and commitments in the class will be important to critically challenging assumptions, bringing personal experiences to the learning process, and leaning into discomfort with an open, respectful heart.
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