Peace & Social Justice Studies

Welcome!

The Peace & Social Justice Studies Program is administered by the Coordinator, Madhuri Deshmukh, Ph.D., and the Global Studies Advisory Committee.

For more information please contact Professor Deshmukh, mdeshmuk@oakton.edu, 847-376-7032.

GSAC 08/09 Members
Carlos Briones
Madhuri Deshmukh
Ramona Ellyin
Elena Ermolenko-Fein
Holly Graff
Camille Harrison
Georgia Kariotis
Linda Korbel
Mohamed Mehdi
Marguerite Solari
Richard Stacewicz
Lynn Woodbury
Lisa Zingaro
Katherine Schuster, Chair

Mission Statement

Oakton Community College’s Vision, Mission and Values states, in part, that the college encourages students to entertain and question ideas, think critically, solve problems, and engage with other cultures, with one another and with faculty. In addition, the college challenges students to be capable global citizens, who, guided by knowledge and ethical principles, will shape the future. 

Be the change you want to see in the world.
– Gandhi
True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.
 – Martin Luther King Jr.

The Peace and Social Justice Studies Program at Oakton Community College is committed to the study and discussion of diverse histories, philosophies, theologies, and ethics of peace, non-violence, and social justice that have emerged in response to conflicts, tensions and suffering around the world.  We envision a broad approach to the study of peace and social justice, one that includes courses in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

We support and aim to contribute to creative activities that encourage peace and social justice in our local and global communities.  We seek to encourage students, faculty members, administrators and staff members to:

• discuss and form working ideas of peace and social justice through engagement with concepts of peace and social justice, and with actual conflicts around the world and in their own lives;
• examine the dynamics of specific conflicts, to draw out the political, social, racial, ethnic, national, economic, environmental, and/or religious dimensions that define and shape it;
• examine and critically evaluate the ethical theories that address peace, non-violence and social justice;
• identify and think through the issues raised by conflicts and suffering on personal, local and global levels;
• envision ways to peaceful transformation and/or resolution to conflicts;
• live their own lives in ways that embody the principles of peace, social justice, and responsible environmental stewardship.