Rethinking Peace Studies (RPS), a global academic initiative that the JICUF has funded and organized over a span of 3 years, is coming to a close. 3 seminars have been held in Tokyo (November 2014), New York (March 2015) and Sri Lanka (November 2015) to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field of Peace Studies. With our partners, ICU and Rutgers University, we invited scholars and professionals from diverse disciplines to participate in these discussions.

To conclude this program, the JICUF is co-hosting a conference with ICU’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) on the ICU campus from June 2nd to 4th. Over 20 scholars, artists and writers, all of whom have participated in one of the seminars, will convene to present papers and engage in lively debate.

Professor Jeremiah Alberg, who teaches philosophy and religion at ICU and is a member of the RPS organizing committee, describes his experience with the program in the following way: “Being a part of the planning and realisation of RPS has been a profound experience for me. We have heard many different voices, from many different parts of the world and now it is coming together with a very exciting plenary conference. I feel privileged to be a part of it. ICU is dedicated to bringing about a more peaceful world but this will only happen through the difficult work of thinking through again the challenges to peace.”

Professor Catherine Cole, current Chair of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, who has participated in the third RPS conference in Sri Lanka on “Dialogue” and will be joining the culminating conference shares how the program ties in with her interests: “As the author of a book on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, I am particularly interested in the price of peace. When justice is deferred, how stable can a negotiated “peace” be? These are important questions not only for South Africa but also for the world. I am grateful to ICU for gathering such a distinguished group of thinkers to consider these compelling issues.“

The conference is open to the public, and all interested parties are encouraged to attend. The program with daily agenda and bios of participants can be found here. For additional information, please visit the RPS website.