News

By Marlene Epp, Professor of History and Peace and Conflict Studies

Marlene Epp is a professor of history and peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. She lives, works, and plays on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Attawandaron, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples.

It is somewhat ironic that the Land Back Camp underway at Victoria Park is just a short walk from the Schneider Haus on Queen Street.

The Land Back Camp is where a group of local Indigenous activists began occupying a small area of the park on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21). They are claiming land that was a traditional meeting ground for Indigenous peoples, used for trade, ceremony, and relationship building. The land was taken away by white colonizers and settlers, but in 1784 the Haldimand Tract (10 kilometres on each side of the Grand River from end to end) was granted by the British to the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations), to support them in perpetuity.

By Michelle Jackett

Michelle Jackett is a graduate of the Peace and Conflict Studies program (BA ’11) and holds an MA in Conflict Transformation, specializing in Restorative Justice (‘13). She currently works as Coordinator of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement and teaches Restorative Justice for PACS.

Did you know caterpillars turn to goop inside their cocoons before becoming butterflies? I learned this fun fact from Rebecca Solnit in her recent article “’The impossible has already happened': what coronavirus can teach us about hope.” More than a fun fact, the caterpillar’s transformation is an analogy.

Just under a month ago PACS and the Centre for Peace Advancement teamed up to create a powerful project. Beyond Essays is a collection of arts-based assignments completed by students in the Peace and Conflict Studies program. This artwork highlights the diverse, innovative, and transformational nature of the PACS program and PACS students.

Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo is pleased to be offering a new course titled “Refugees and Forced Migration” in Winter 2016. This course will assist students in understanding and responding to the current global refugee crisis. 

The Spring 2015 edition of Grebel Now, the newsletter for Conrad Grebel University College, was recently published. Included in this publication is an article by Rachel Reist, the Field Study and Internship Coordinator for PACS, on the lasting impact of international travel. The full article is below, and the Spring 2015 Grebel Now can be accessed online.

This is the fourth installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our students.

This is the third installment of a monthly feature on the PACS website. This monthly profile of PACS and MPACS students will give a small snapshot into the pursuits and experiences of our PACS students.

Conrad Grebel University College will confer its first honorary doctorate to John Paul Lederach at its Convocation ceremony on April 13, 2014.