Hello PACS Students,
I hope that everyone enjoyed their Halloween weekend and Thanksgiving Festivities.
Below, I have included some upcoming events, job opportunities/internships, and resources for you.
Highlights
- PACS Winter 2022 Courses
- The Winter 2022 Course Schedule is currently available. Reach out to the Undergraduate Academic and Administrative Officer if interested in learning more about PACS courses. Below, I will be highlighting a few.
- Book Launch: Peace is Everybody's Business
- Re-Storying the Medicine Line as Indigenous Land Guardianship Lecture: [Friday, November 12, 2021 - 7:30 pm]
PACS Winter 2022 Courses
PACS 201- Roots of Conflict, Violence, and Peace: An examination of influential theories about the sources and nature of conflict, violence, and peace. Contributions from the social sciences, as well as the humanities, will be explored, with attention to connections between interpersonal, intergroup, and international levels of analysis
PACS 302 - Special Topics: Math for Good and Evil: This course will examine topics that lie at the intersection of math and peace—such as democracy and elections, money and wealth, social change, war and technology, bias and equity, policing, health, and the environment—and sharpen analysis of how both math and peace studies contribute to creating a stable and peaceful society. This course is designed for students from all faculties and levels of comfort (or discomfort) with mathematics. The course activities and assignments will focus on discussion and writing; students are not required to do any mathematics.
PACS 318 - Peacebuilding in Divided Societies:This course confronts the central challenge of how to transition from violence to just peace; from deep-rooted conflict, war, and structural violence to positive peace and transformed relationships. The course introduces the concept of peacebuilding, identifies levels of peacebuilding initiatives, and focuses particularly on grassroots efforts to lead change. Course work includes readings, case studies, simulation exercises, and applied projects.
PACS 326 - Religion and Peacebuilding: This course investigates the roles of religion and spirituality in peacemaking, exploring both obstacles and opportunities facing religious peacebuilders. Cases involving representatives of major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism) will provide a basis for comparing practices of faith-based advocacy for social justice, reconciliation, and coexistence.
PACS 333 - Advanced Mediation Practice: This course will give students both a thorough understanding of the mediation process and practical, hands-on mediation experience. Students will develop in-depth, first-hand knowledge and experience resolving conflicts through the role of the mediator as a third party. The course will include a series of role-plays, readings, and case studies.
Find more PACS Winter 2022 courses at this link here.
Upcoming Events
Bi-Weekly Coffee Hangout
You are invited to drop in the PACS bi-weekly coffee hangout this Friday from 10 am to 11 am. These hangouts are drop-in and are intended to be stress-free. You are welcome to leave at any time. See your email for details.
International Humanitarian Law Conference
You are invited to attend the 5th Annual IHL Conference on November 11, 2021 (12:30 pm-3:15 pm EST).
In December 2001, the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty released its ground-breaking report “The Responsibility to Protect” or R2P as it is now commonly known. Twenty years later, the norm of R2P remains contested. The conference will feature three exciting online sessions:
- International Humanitarian Law 101
- Critical conversations on the Responsibility to Protect after 20 years
- Careers in the field of IHL
Peace is Everyone's Business - Book Launch
Celebrate the launch of Peace is Everyone's Business, with presentations by Lowell Ewert, Fred Bird, and a few collaborators during this virtual event. Afterward, ask the editors and authors your questions during a Q&A segment.
Please register in advance to receive a Zoom link to this event.
Mennonite Central Committee
Join MCC staff and friends as we discuss what it means to build peace, especially during a global pandemic and increasing racial tensions. Please click here to read more and to register.
RE-STORYING THE MEDICINE LINE AS INDIGENOUS LAND GUARDIANSHIP
Native spiritual practices have always been about land. Today, First Nations groups in Canada and the US are engaged in significant political, cultural, and spiritual work to reclaim ancestral lands and their traditional roles as land guardians. At a time of profound climate disruption and converging crises, First Nations leaders are asserting and renewing their sacred relationships with other-than-human kin like totem animals and elements like water and fire. The revitalization of land guardianship roles and practices is often characterized as protecting the medicines of the land so that they can continue to give life to all of creation. This movement is a claim to territorial and spiritual sovereignty.
Melissa K. Nelson is an ecologist and Indigenous scholar-activist, who will be hosting the lecture. She earned her Ph.D. in ecology at the University of California, Davis. Formerly a professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University, she is now a Professor of Indigenous Sustainability at Arizona State University in the Global Futures Laboratory. She is a contributor and co-editor of Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability (2018). She is Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe/Métis.
Date/Time: Friday, November 12, 2021 - 7:30pm
Location: Online
Please use this link to attend this lecture.
MEDA Convention 2021
Through this workshop, participants will hear how MEDA has helped stem the tide of the worst effects of the pandemic for hardworking people around the globe so that they can fulfill their God-given potential to earn a livelihood. Learn how your support has empowered our clients and partners to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty. Please click here to read more and to register.
Internship and Job Opportunities
Romero House
The Romero House invites applications to its worker program from people looking for a challenging, fulfilling, and worthwhile way to spend a year or four months. You can apply for either our full-year program or our summer program. Click here to read more and register.
The Ripple Effect Education - Manager of Programs position
The primary role of the Manager of Programs is to give voice to TREE programs in workshop facilitation and lead the facilitation team, by identifying program opportunities and funding applications, and through communications. In this role, the Manager of Programs has the opportunity to build community with TREE staff, while developing and maintaining people-focused systems and communicating the impact of our work in a fast-paced environment. This position reports to and works closely with the Executive Director. To read more about this position and apply, click here.
Resources
Campus Wellness Counselling Services
This service can be reached at 519-888-4567, ext. 32655. Offers same-day appointments for emergencies and can be found in Needles Hall North on the second floor. For more information, please visit the University of Waterloo Counselling.
Campus Wellness Health Services
This service can be reached at 519-888-4096. Offers walk-in appointments for urgent concerns and can be found in the Health Services building.
Thrive
Thrive is a series of events focused on building positive mental health for students, faculty, and staff at the University of Waterloo. Thrive Month is October 18 - November 12.
It is also a mindset that encourages one to flourish. Thrive aims to increase mental health literacy, build healthy habits and self-care skills, and create an inclusive and supportive campus environment through various events and initiatives.
Check out the list of events or read through the Thrive toolkit.