Course Descriptions
PJ 120 Prophets of Nonviolence
The goal of nonviolence is to return love for hate, ultimately overcoming evil with good. This course will introduce the student to the experience of nonviolence as expressed in the lives of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day and Jean Vanier. Special attention will be given to the respective cultural and historical settings in which each individual lived. The student will also be faced with the implications of nonviolence for a life of faith committed to the struggle for peace and justice.
3 credits
PJ 123 The Praxis of Faith and the Transformation of Culture
This course is conceived as a response to the need in contemporary society for Christian faith to address culture on the basis of the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. Implicit in this is the understanding that the Church and the gospel are themselves inculturated, that is, they do not stand outside the processes of culture, but carry specific embodiments of faith in cultural form. Thus, the meeting of faith and culture is an intercultural clash. In the course, faith will be defined as the praxis of the human journey to and with God. Christian faith is set within the horizon of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Culture will be defined as those aspects of human consciousness, as well as the unconscious, and their embodiments in society that contain the various meanings we attribute to human life and the values we choose to live by. Culture is the matrix of political, economic and social structures of society.
3 credits
PJ 125 Homelessness: Causes and Consequences
In this seminar, students spend several hours each week in shelters, soup kitchens or day programs, learning first-hand about homelessness. In class, journals and short papers, students will reflect on their community-based learning experiences and integrate them with readings and theory. The causes and consequences of homelessness are discussed, and critically analyzed from a variety of perspectives, as are its effects on individuals, families and society.
3 credits
PJ 398 Capstone Research Seminar
This course is taken after the introductory course (PO 115) and three electives. The course provides an opportunity for the student to examine the connection between his or her major and the values of peace and justice. Each student undertakes a major research project representing a concept, issue or case study in the student's major and investigates the justice and peace dimension of the topic. The student makes oral and written presentations of the research project and discussion follows in the seminar. The course is very much student-driven. While faculty assist in the selection of topics and readings and join in the discussion, the course is designed to give students much of the responsibility for their learning.
3 credits | 
