Please visit the catalog archive for details about 2022-23 degrees and programs.

 
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Course Descriptions

 

View real-time listing of classes and sections offered.

NOTE: Individual course fees are subject to change. See your account summary in myUVU for accurate charges.

PJST-Peace and Justice Studies
PJST 3000
Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies WE
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2050 and University Advanced Standing

Introduces the student to the important literature, questions, and research programs of peace and justice studies. Explores personal, domestic, national, and international issues. Considers alternative conceptions of violence, war, terrorism, justice/injustice, and peace. Enables the student to become aware of various intellectual and professional disciplines that bear relationships to peace and justice, e.g., history, political theory, international relations, political economy, international law, environmental law, military science, mediation and negotiation.

PJST 3020
The Ethics of War and Peace
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2050 and University Advanced Standing

Introduces literature concerning the ethics of conflict, war, terrorism, and peace. Considers alternative conceptions of these phenomena, as will be alternative approaches and ethical theories in respect to how conflict of various kinds might most effectively and morally be preempted or diminished. Addresses various defense theories and religious traditions' teachings about conflict, violence, and peace.

PJST 3030
The Scientific Study of War and Peace
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PJST 3000 and University Advanced Standing

Takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of conditions under which the use of violence, terrorism, and war occur. Studies the use of non-violent approaches to conflict and their effectiveness. Examines the ways in which strategies for violent and non-violent approaches to conflict are developed and evaluated.

PJST 3040
Peace in Historical Context
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): University Advanced Standing

Explores peace from an historical perspective. Considers the history of peace movements and humanitarianism, warfare, slavery and abolition, colonization, and indigenous perspectives on peace. Introduces students to the field of peace history and the ways historians have defined and understood peace. Enables the student to historicize peace in relationship to violence.

PJST 3100
Introduction to Human Security
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 2010 and (PHIL 2050 or PHIL 205G) and University Advanced Standing

Introduces the student, and brings him or her, to some depth in the field of human security. Engages the student in a wide range of interdisciplinary literature because this field of inquiry, discourse, and conception is contested, theoretically rich, and empirically rich. Analyzes matters that threaten human security, for example: hunger and malnutrition; disease; cultural, structural, and direct violence; ecological and environmental degradation; political and economic instability and hegemony. Analyzes the organizations, institutions, movements, and strategies assembled successfully against these threats.

PJST 3200
Global Poverty Facts Causes and Solutions
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): (ENGL 2010 or instructor approval) and University Advanced Standing
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): PHIL 2050 or PHIL 205G or instructor approval

Analyzes global poverty as a serious and pressing worldwide problem that kills over 33,000 people each day. Interrogates questions of why poverty exists, as well as what is or can be done to diminish or eliminate it. Presents sophisticated and empirically-based information regarding global malnutrition, conflict, migration, lack of employment and healthcare, etc. Uses the most recent research and research methodologies to investigate both the causes of poverty and the most promising solutions. Examines literature about various moral perspectives and how they speak to the moral duty (or its absence) to address poverty.

PJST 3300
Community Development
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PJST 3000 and University Advanced Standing

Surveys the nature of community and approaches to the building and strengthening of community. Analyzes needs in various communities and methods of implementing solutions to meet those needs. Explores policies and strategies that produce a high quality of life and maximum opportunity for all residents of local communities. Examines community development through case studies and direct student engagement.

PJST 3400
Conflict Transformation Resolution and Sustainable Peace
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PJST 3000 and University Advanced Standing

Uses empirical data to interrogate and explicate organized death in the form of war, revolution, insurgency, or terrorism as a perennial, and one of the most complicated, problems. Uses empirical data and theory to investigate the means of conflict transformation that have been most successful. Presents a basic understanding of how conflict is transformed from (1) an active status to (2) resolution to (3) peaceful stalemate to (4) sustained peace. Explicates the process of moving from active violent conflict to sustainable peace. Explores the roles of peoples, state organizations, institutions, civil society, culture, religion, states, and multilateral organizations.

PJST 4200
Advanced Poverty Studies:Global Problems and Policies
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): (PHIL 2050 or PHIL 205G) and University Advanced Standing

Analyzes the nature of poverty in diverse societies, techniques for its measurement and inaccurate measurement, and the causes and reasons for poverty and its intractability. Examines the ways in which local, national, and global factors are part of the nature of poverty. Surveys policies and institutions designed to confront the problem. Interrogates and explicates the ethical issues surrounding poverty and its alleviation.

PJST 4300
Race Gender and Class in Peace and Justice
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PJST 3000 and University Advanced Standing

Analyzes the bases of discrimination and domination in societies. Addresses the multidimensional forms of social inequality by examining concrete examples of each dimension such as the wealth gap, gendered work, and poverty. Examines the nature of social class, race, and gender as they relate to issues of war, peace, injustice, and justice. Surveys the contributions that the perspectives of the dominated and victims of discrimination offer to the resolution of inequalities and the establishment of equity.

PJST 475R
Issues in Peace and Justice Studies
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2050, Junior Standing, and University Advanced Standing

Presents a selected topic from current issues in the area of Peace and Justice Studies which will vary each semester. May approach topics from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Requires a project demonstrating competence in the specific topic or issue. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits toward graduation.

PJST 481R
Internship
1 to 8 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): Program Director Approval and University Advanced Standing

Provides opportunities for internship experience in the following types of agencies: political, governmental, corporate, private, news agencies or any non governmental organization (NGO) apart from regular employment. Encourages practical, research, and/or development experience in selected areas of service related to the student's academic or professional goals relevant to peace and justice studies concerns. Requires supervision by an agency representative and approval of the Peace and Justice Studies internship adviser and the program director. Requires that written contracts be completed and signed by all responsible parties. Credit is determined by the number of hours a student works during the semester. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits toward graduation. May be graded credit/no credit.

PJST 4900
Peace and Justice Studies Capstone
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 2010, Senior Standing, and University Advanced Standing

To be taken during the student's last semester. Includes writing a senior thesis which points to career or graduate school goals. Requires a significant research project, which may coincide with field work and/or internship experience. Covers advanced Peace and Justice Studies research and writing instruction. Involves the creation of a portfolio helpful in applying to graduate schools or seeking employment.

PJST 491R
Independent Study
1 to 8 Credit Hours
Prerequisite(s): Program Director Approval and University Advanced Standing

For self-directed students who wish to engage in a well-defined study or project in an area of special interest within the domain of Peace and Justice Studies. Requires individual initiative and responsibility with limited formal instruction and faculty supervision. Projects may include writing a publishable paper, giving an oral presentation, passing a competency exam, or completing any other options approved by the instructor and the program director. May be repeated for up to 9 credits toward graduation.