/
Course Descriptions - CJP

Course Descriptions - CJP

Note that some courses contain a link to recent syllabi. Please do not rely on these syllabi for upcoming course information; it's likely the instructor and the time/day/location listed in the syllabus won't be accurate. Additionally, the classes listed below are regular course offerings (most of which are offered in the fall and spring semesters). Many additional electives are offered yearly through our Summer Peacebuilding Institute/SPI.

PAX 507 Praxis: Personal and Community Formation (1 SH)
This pass/fail One-Hour bi-weekly seminar for MA in Transformational Leadership (MATL) students contributes to creating a foundation for the student’s personal development and partners with the development of the learning community that supports students throughout their time at CJP and beyond. PAX 507A nurtures the importance of community process while also providing one on once care. This online seminar is rooted in reflective conversations and is co-led by the student-teachers and the wisdom of all who inhabit our virtual learning community. This seminar will explore themes of vocation/purpose, community creation, professional development and leadership. 

PAX 508 Praxis: Project (1-2 SH)
Praxis Project involves the online experience of connecting to a practice community of other transformational leaders and coaching faculty while implementing a project in their organization or home community. A mix of asynchronous assignments and synchronous meetings allow students to engage in course material, engage in collective brainstorming of practice challenges/barriers, view transformational leadership through an emergence lens, and refine leadership skills in complex projects and programs.

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 frameworks of leadership, group dynamics, and 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, whether assignments are turned in on time, and meet all requirements laid out in the assignment’s guidance note.

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.

Praxis: Capstone involves the online experience of integrating all MATL course materials and experiences in a reflective environment to assist students in mentally and physically documenting their work. A mix of asynchronous assignments and synchronous meetings allow students to reflect on their identities, theories of change, skill sets, challenges and barriers, and critical theory in their dynamic and ever-changing context.

Critical theory lenses will guide students in reflecting on their experiences, theories of change, and project(s) as they prepare for their capstone presentations.

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.

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.

The course format is participatory, experiential and adaptive. Students will conduct an actual professional evaluation of an on-going program; consequently, students will find themselves leading and/or participating in processes with which they have no prior experience. Further, the syllabus, readings and assignments may need to be adapted to meet the changing needs of the program. The course involves a significant amount of group work; each participant is advised to consider that requirement in relation to personal obligations, distance from campus, ease of meeting with other students and individual willingness to participate in a work team.

This course will be exploring ideas and experiences that have caused harm and traumagenic responses in people’s lives and communities when developing the program evaluation with the client.  With this in mind, we will be utilizing a Trauma-Informed Classroom Care Model [Cless, J. D. & Goff, B. 2017. Teaching trauma: A model for introducing traumatic materials in the classroom. Advances in Social Work, 18(1), 25-38.].  Elements of this model include:

  • Trauma Exposure - Course objectives may expose students to elements of trauma and trigger traumatic stress.

  • Reactions to Trauma - How a student responds to traumagenic information or events varies from student to student and depends on personal history. This course will utilize three phases of trauma recovery: Safety, Remembrance and Mourning, and Reconnection (integration).

  • Student Disclosure of Trauma - Students have the opportunity to disclose personal experiences of trauma in a variety of ways. These might include: individual meeting with the instructor, during on-campus discussions, or in writing through personal reflection, email, writing/class assignments.

  • Flexibility - Students with higher levels of reactivity to course content will be met with a higher level of flexibility.

  • Course Progression - The instructor will inform students of the topics and progression of the course.

  • Assessment - Assessments are used to not only measure progress toward stated objectives and student learning but also monitor student reactivity. This will be done through weekly warm-ups, reflection papers, circle processes, and projects.

Prerequisite: PAX 535 Research Methods for Social Change; or permission of the instructor. Note that this class is offered every other year.

PAX 520 - PAX 529 (AUDIT ONLY)
CJP attempts to offer a wide variety of courses on critical issues and skills needed in the peacebuilding field. Especially in our Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) each May and June, we offer new topics courses based on what we are hearing is needed most out in the field. These professional development topics courses are one time offerings that may or may not be offered again and are not a required part of the graduate program. In these instances the courses are not offered for graduate credit, but only participation audit. 

PAX 532 Formation for Peacebuilding Practice (3 SH)
As individuals working for peace, social justice, reduction of violence, and the possibility of reconciliation, we are the instruments of the work. How can we best prepare ourselves to take constructive action whether in a professional role or in a personal relationship? This course will explore four areas of awareness and accountability essential for effectiveness in our action efforts. These areas of content and engagement, described more fully in the syllabus, are self-awareness, self-assessment, self-management, and self- and community care.

In focusing on these four areas, we’ll consider the values that inform our actions, the roles we play, the skills we have and need, and the processes available to us for doing the work. The course will make use of in-person instruction and conversation, video inputs, personal action and reflection, paired and plenary discussion, demonstration/presentation and a sampling of non-traditional forms of learning and integration (e.g arts-based methods, play, music/rhythm, etc). We will also plan and practice (as appropriate) selected strategies for structuring conversations and decision-making. Course participants will strengthen their abilities to understand and manage self, attend to self & community care, and assess appropriateness of action. And in this unusual time globally, we will practice and reflect on physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual elements of well-being and growth.

This course meets a requirement for the MA or GC in Conflict Transformation, the MA or GC in Restorative Justice and the MA in Transformational Leadership. Everyone is expected to attend and participate in class and complete independent reading, research and writing outside of class. Further details on course requirements will be provided during the course and online on Moodle. It cannot be taken for reduced credit.

This course is also taught during our annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute (www.emu.edu/cjp/spi/).

PAX 533 Analysis: Understanding Conflict (3 SH)
Analysis focuses on understanding the factors that cause and contribute to conflict, violence, and instability and those that restrain violence and support peacebuilding. Good analysis skills are a central component of designing effective strategies for transforming conflict and building peace.

Course participants will use lenses (visual or mental models or deductive research frameworks) including those related to identity (gender, religion, nationality, etc.), human needs, narratives, social power, power asymmetry, domination and oppression, culture, worldview, and others to understand conflict and propose possibilities for change. They will also consider the “built-in” lenses they carry with them and how these affect their perception and action. Case studies of conflicts at multiple levels will provide an opportunity to practice analysis skills individually and in small groups. The class will consider research strategies for gathering and organizing data for practical use and theories of change as an intermediate step to designing effective social change.

This 3 SH course meets a requirement for the MA or GC in Conflict Transformation, the MA or GC in Restorative Justice and the MA in Transformational Leadership. Everyone is expected to attend and participate in every session, and complete reading/viewing, activities and assignments outside of class. Further details on course requirements will appear in the course schedule document, and will be provided during the course and online on Moodle. This course cannot be taken for reduced credit.

This course is also taught during our annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute (www.emu.edu/cjp/spi/). 

PAX 535 Research Methods for Social Change (3 SH)
“‘Research Justice’ is achieved when communities reclaim and access all forms of knowledge to affect change between community voices and those of institutions.”

Emancipatory peacebuilders, academics, and broader social justice movements use research to illuminate obscured relationships between power and oppression, cultivate stories, identify theories of change, and document histories and cultures of resilience. However, the dominant Euro-Western research methods and methodologies many practitioners learn often replicate the very paradigms and power relationships those in the justice and peacebuilding field seek to displace. Consequently, only certain forms of knowledge are valued and sought out, which subjugates indigenous and community-based ways of knowing and being. Therefore, this required 3-credit course for all MA candidates equips students with an expansive and justice-oriented qualitative research framework that introduces pathways for research to advance social change. This course is designed to invite all to explore their curiosities through inquiry in pursuit of a world with more justice and peace.

[1] DataCenter for Research Justice. (2015). An introduction to research justice [PDF], p. 6. Retrieved from http://www.datacenter.org/new-toolkit-an-introduction-to-research-justice/.

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.

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.

STAR’s multi-disciplinary framework draws on several fields of theory and practice to support healthy, resilient individuals and communities: trauma and resilience studies (including neurobiology), restorative justice, conflict transformation, human security, and spirituality. STAR centers participants’ experience and insights, while offering activities, resources, and a theoretical model to support a journey toward understanding and interrupting cycles of violence at the individual, communal and societal levels.

Learn more about STAR on the STAR website!

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.

This class is a core requirement for all MATL students.

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.

This is a core requirements for MA in Restorative Justice students.  This course is offered every fall and is often offered through the annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute as well. 

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, structural violence, 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.]

PAX 588 Nonviolent Social Change (3 SH) 
Is nonviolence effective for creating sustainable social change in the face of institutional, political, and violent resistance?  How is the philosophy of nonviolence connected to nonviolent strategy and tactics?  And can nonviolence still be relevant today?  In this course, we look at the power of social movements to effect change using strategic nonviolence, including forms of protest and persuasion, noncooperation, and nonviolent intervention and direct action. We examine the theory, practice, history, and research behind nonviolence, and explore debates and criticisms about the efficacy of nonviolent social change. Our work will be grounded in a close study of the US Civil Rights Movement, as well as other social change movements from India to Serbia to South Africa, and recent movements from Occupy to Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter to Environmental Justice.

Through case studies and our own experiences, we will practice assessment, visioning, planning, and tactical skills, and also apply what we have learned to issues we care about.  As we discuss whether nonviolence is “the way” or “one way” for us today, we will investigate the intersections of nonviolent social change with peacebuilding practices and social justice movements.  Along with readings and classroom discussions and activities, we will engage with multimedia resources like film and music, and connect to real-life scenarios through individual and group research and presentations.