War and Peace: A History of Peace Movements

Catalog description

We generally assume war is a constant in our history and in the modern world. However, in every era there have been voices attempting to understand, explain and ultimately prevent it. In the modern world there has been a great deal of debate about the relationship of violence, capitalism, colonialism, empire, and racism to war. We will examine some of these debates among peace activists. Advocates for peace have attempted to build movements addressing the factors leading to war. What kinds of efforts have been made for a more peaceful world and how have they fared? We will examine how world leaders, business people, civil rights, and other peace activists have thought about war and peace. We will examine case studies of select wars and select peace movements.