Peace and Conflict Studies Course Descriptions
PACS-101 Intro to Peace & Conflict Studies
An introduction to the concepts, issues, and approaches relating peace and conflict studies, including forms and causes of peace and conflict, contexts of conflict and violence, and proposed solutions for reducing violence and promoting peace. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-105 Peace & Conflict Studies: Field Experien
A course designed to introduce the student to service-learning, provided in a field site drawn from the Humanitarian Center's database and the consequent learning the student will experience with regard to building community, applying one's academic and own personal experience in the course of providing service. Pass/No Pass. May be repeated once for credit. Offered for variable credit. 1-3 hours.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-195 Independent Study
See department for details.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-208 Addictions and Society
Addictions and Society takes a historical and interdisciplinary approach to the question of alcohol, substance abuse and the social costs of addiction and use. The course investigates human motives to alter consciousness using classic and modern research in the physiology of addiction, sociocultural risk factors and changing cultural representations of drug use. Prerequisite: PSY-150 with C or better. 4 hours. Cross-listed as PSY 208.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-211 Philosophical & Theolog Bases of Peace
From the philosophical and theological perspective, what is peace and how is it to be defined? What are the conditions for its achievement? Do human nature and the structure of the universe promote or preclude its realization in history? What is the wisdom of human experience and the teachings of the great philosophers and religious leaders on these questions? 3 hours. Meets humanities core requirement.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-214 Vietnam and the U.S.
This is a survey of the origins, development and results of the American war with Vietnam. This course, however, will be taught more within the context of Vietnamese history and culture than within that of American history and culture. Consequently, more emphasis will be given to the roots of the war on Vietnam than to its origins in U.S. foreign policy. There will be an opportunity in this course for students to learn how to prepare "pages" for the World Wide Web. Those who are interested should also enroll for two hours of credit in one of the two sections of HIST 214, "History in an Electronic Environment." Although concurrent enrollment in 214 is voluntary, all students are strongly urged to enroll as the lab will not only teach web page production, but will also enhance student understanding of the materials covered in the class itself. Cross-listed with HIST 213. 4 credits.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-215 Conflict Resolution
Theories, strategies, and skills in resolving conflicts are analyzed and applied. Emphasis is placed on practical application of learned skills through conflict simulations. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-222 Civil Rights Movement
This course examines the causes, history, and tactics of the struggle to guarantee African- Americans equal treatment under the law in the United States. The primary focus of the course material is on the political movement for racial equality in the United States from 1954-1968. Cross-listed with POLS 222. Counts towards comparative cultural core requirement. 2 credits.
Credits: 2.00
PACS-225 Middle East
An introduction to the places, people and politics of the Middle East, including such concerns as the influence and importance of religion, the revival of Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, the impact and consequences of Western colonialism, the dream and possibility of panarabism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and future relations with the West. Meets comparative cultural core requirement. 2 credits.
Credits: 2.00
PACS-227 Civil Rights Movement
This course examines the causes, history, and tactics of the struggle to guarantee African- Americans equal treatment under the law in the United States. The primary focus of the course material is on the political movement for racial equality in the United States from 1954-1968. Meets comparative cultural core requirement. 4 credits.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-230 Navajo Service Learning
This course permits selected students to engage in a cross-cultural immersion service learning experience in the Navajo nation during the Winter III term. Requires consent of instructor. Meets comparative cultural core requirement. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-255 Special Topics
See department for course description.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-275 Internship
See department for details.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-295 Independent Study
See department for details.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-300 Community Based Action Research
Students will be introduced to the methodology of action research, which is a combination of quantitative data gathering used with groups, communities, or programs interested in the formulation and assessment of interventions, extant programs, or future needs. Students will work with the professor on specific community based and stakeholder-involved questions (e.g., school programs; campus-based programs; community services). They will acquire social policy knowledge, "real world" experience at sites and the methodological skills required to assist in the formulation of evaluations and proposals of programs. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above and permission of the instructor. 4 hours.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-303 Advanced Feminist Theory
This course will provide a detailed examination of the academic discourse known as feminist theory. Utilizing a broad feminist theory framework, including Marxist, poststructuralist, and psychoanalytic perspectives, this course will address a number of social concerns. First, we will address how the concept of gender is socially-constructed through institutional power arrangements, popular culture representations, and everyday social dynamics. Second, we will examine to what extent advanced feminist theory departs from first and second wave feminism. Third, this course will address how feminist theory helps us understand more about the construction of ethnic and sexual identities. Finally, with a special emphasis upon the concept of power, this course will illustrate how feminist theory enables a more broad and inclusive discussion of politics in contemporary society. Prerequisite: GSS 201. 4 credits.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-305 Advanced Service Learning
This seminar seeks to build on the mature work and insights of a variety of student placement sights, growing directly from their major course work and a well-considered personal inventory. The seminar is integrative of a wide variety of one's educational experiences at Pacific. Students will apply their academic and personal skills directly into a service-learning site placement, seeking to contribute both to the site and the people there as well as to augment their grasp of the applied knowledge from the chosen major. Prerequisite: PACS 105 and permissions of the instructor. May be repeated once for credit. 2 hours.
Credits: 2.00
PACS-310 Travel in India: Gender Society Service
Travel in India: Gender, Culture and Service is a Winter III course sponsored by the Center for Gender Equity. It consists of two and a half weeks travel in southern India during the month of January. The bulk of the course is conducted at Lady Doak College, a small liberal arts women's college in Madurai, India in Tamilnadu. The course consists of lecture and discussion by Lady Doak faculty, service-learning, discussion with local service agencies, field work on a topic of the student's choice, and travel to sites of cultural and historic importance. The participant is required to register for HUM 210 the fall semester prior to the travel portion of the class. Meets comparative cultural core requirement. Prerequisite: HUM 210. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-319 Vietnam War Era Literature, Theory, Film
An in-depth study of the U.S. war in Viet Nam and its repercussions as evidenced in the literature, film, historical commentaries, and theories of war still emerging in response to that war era. We will be examining the war from both the American and Vietnamese perspectives-its background, events, and aftermath. The weekly film showings and critiques will include both American and Vietnamese feature films and documentaries-dating from the early 1970s to the present. Prerequisites: one 200-level ENGW or ENGL course. 4 credits.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-321 Protest, Dissent, & Social Change
This course examines the causes and history of widespread movements that use protest to promote political change. Topics include theories of social movements and case studies that may include the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the environmental movement, and the recent rise of conservative Christian activism. 4 hours.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-322 The Suppression of Dissent
This course explores how the state, mass media, and other forces suppress dissent. Students will first gain a theoretical foothold in the field of social-movement studies, along the way exploring the following questions: What is dissident citizenship? How, when, and why does the state suppress dissent? What role do the mass media play in the suppression of activism? Students will also study specific historical instances of political suppression, such as the suppression of the American Indian Movement, civil rights movement, environmental movements, and the Global Justice Movement. 4 credits.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-325 The Vietnam War Era
This course explores the origins, events, and consequences of American involvement in Indochina from historical, political, philosophical and personal perspectives. Meets humanities core requirement or comparative cultural core requirement. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-355 Special Topics
See department for course description.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-395 Independent Study
See department for details.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-411 Literature of War
A seminar on fiction and non-fiction writing about war, considering both text and the reality with which the author comes to grips. Readings may include works such as: The Great War, Meditations in Green, All Quiet on the Western Front, Testament of Youth, Johnny Got His Gun, Harp of Burma. Meets humanities core requirement. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-430 Human Rights
This course offers an in-depth investigation of conceptual and political issues related to rights and human rights, including such issues as the source and extent of rights, the nature of rights- bearers, the justification of rights claims, the legitimacy and means of implementing universal human rights and critiques and evaluations of the social role of rights. Prerequisites: PACS 101 and Junior standing or above. Meets humanities core requirements. 4 hours.
Credits: 4.00
PACS-450 Issues Peace & Conflict Studies
A course wherein students examine important issues and ideas relative to peace and conflict studies, especially for the advanced student completing a minor in PACS. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. 3 hours.
Credits: 3.00
PACS-455 Special Topics
See department for course description.
Credits: 1.00
PACS-475 Internship
See department for details.
Credits: 1.00