University of St. Thomas

When asked what one word describes the justice and peace studies major at St. Thomas, a faculty member replied, “mind-blowing.”

A real student asks:

 

A real student asks: “Why is it important to study poverty and injustice when I already know they exist?”

A justice and peace studies faculty member responds: “Our major teaches why these conditions exist and what steps and strategies can be taken to end these conditions that hurt so many people. You learn about how systems work to maintain unjust situations as well as the strategies to transform systems, including conflict resolution, nonviolent communication skills, citizenship mobilization, publicizing issues, leadership skills and much more.”

What jobs are possible with a Justice and Peace Studies major?

What are recent graduates doing now?

Cara Lane ’04 joined the Peace Corps and traveled to Morocco after graduation. Lane is now working in a congressperson’s office in California.

Jessy Lecy ’01 pursued community development work in Bosnia for the American Refugee Committee after graduation. Lecy is now a Ph.D. candidate in Systems Analysis at Carnegie Mellon University.

What opportunities are there to bolster my resume while I'm in the program?

Internships. The twin cities offer a remarkable collection of world-class nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations. Over the years we have developed a wonderful set of institutional connections—locally, nationally and internationally—that provide our students with interesting and challenging internships that we design individually for them. We have placed students with a law firm working on immigration rights, at the capital as a staff aid, at the Resource Center of the Americans doing research, in the court system doing advocacy and court watching work, with Workers Interfaith Network organizing for labor rights, at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights as an educator, at the American Refugee Committee and at many other organizations. We also partner with HECUA – the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs which provides many internship sites overseas, including the BBC in Northern Ireland.

Study abroad. Many justice and peace studies students study in Ecuador, where they are involved in study and internships that engage directly with local women’s groups, indigenous people’s organizations and youth advocacy programs. Other students go to Northern Ireland to study the history of “the troubles” and in the process take part in internships where they learn practical conflict-resolution skills. Other popular destinations include South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Norway, Rome, India, Bangladesh and eastern Europe. Students also study locally, learning about poverty at home and community solutions to such problems. Internships at the state capitol teach them about the legislative process. In the past, students have studied in St. Paul, examining how a large population can live in a sustainable way along the Mississippi River. Several programs also provide students with an opportunity to use their talents in creative writing and the arts to work on issues of justice and peace.  

Faculty at work

Outside of the classroom, justice and peace studies faculty members are very active in their field. Our professors use their talents locally, nationally and abroad on projects such as:

• Writing a peace and justice textbook for use across the United States; involvement in peace work in Israel and Palestine.
• Running for public office while working to resolve global warming; in both cases the faculty member has worked with students closely.
  Working with the Catholic Church to assist the local Hispanic community.
• Training teachers on how to introduce justice and peace themes and practices into their classrooms. The organization through which he works typically hires a JPST major.
• The director is currently writing a book on the Arab League on which she works closely with a student research assistant. She is also doing research in Ghana and South Africa and frequently leads courses in Bangladesh, Guatemala and Ghana.