Social Justice and Peace Studies Symposium

A new initiative to more broadly discuss student research in Social Justice and Peace Studies began at King’s in April.  Fourth year students in the SJPS program participated in a senior seminar research symposium on April 4, 2016. The symposium brought together the two sections of the fourth year seminar course that focused on global issues such as homelessness, foreign aid, international mediation, and humanitarian intervention. This seminar serves as the capstone experience for students in the SJPS program. Students presented their research to members of the London community and to the King’s community in the form of either a 10-minute conference paper or an academic poster presentation. This year Dr. Megan Shore hosted the symposium, and two SJPS faculty members, Dr. Allyson Larkin and Dr. Tom Malleson, helped with moderating the paper presentations.

 “We are so fortunate to have a program that is focused on changing the world through quality academic research and by actively engaging in initiatives that serve the causes of justice and peace,” says Dr. Shore “This symposium was an opportunity for a group of students, who are committed to putting their education into action, to bring their research to a wider audience. They embody the King’s commitment to serve the larger community and the SJPS mission to engage in informed, transformative social action,” she adds.

Social Justice and Peace Studies (SJPS) at King’s is an interdisciplinary academic program rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and the desire to create a more just and peaceful world. The SJPS program encourages students to take what they learn in the classroom, and through their research, and combine it with transformative experiential education opportunities both locally and globally. “Our students understand that the pursuit of social justice and peace is multi-faceted. Our goal in this program is to help students develop the critical and analytical skills that can be used in the collective effort to establish more just and peaceful social, political, and economic structures,” says Dr. Shore.

To learn more about the Social Justice and Peace Studies program, please visit the SJPS program page.