The Many Voices of Peace Studies: Celebrating 50 Years

Daive Dunkley

Daive Dunkley, director of Peace Studies since August 2021, is also a professor for the Department of Black Studies and is following the tradition of those behind him as well as leading the way into unexplored territory. In the early years of Peace Studies, there was limited staff and course offerings.

Change in the Works

Dunkley is working to change that – taking charge of the program, providing more classes, adding more seminars and conferences, updating the website, hiring paid staff, among other improvements.

The Peace Studies program currently offers both a major and minor in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Peace Studies. Classes are offered online, in-person, and mixed.

“Peace Studies was one of the first programs to introduce online teaching,” Dunkley says. “We had an online course before the pandemic hit us. So, Peace Studies was very instrumental in introducing the online courses.”

Broad Reach

Dunkley says the course offerings, which are plentiful in topic, attract a wide variety of students for various reasons.

“Students come from across the College of Arts and Science,” Dunkley says. “They come to fulfill a general education requirement, or to take a writing-intensive course, or because they are genuinely interested in some of the issues that Peace Studies addresses, like democracy, the fight for racial justice, the class struggle ….

“And the geographic scope of Peace Studies courses also is of great interest to students because we study the entire world. We have courses on the Americas, on Africa, Europe, and Asia.”

Today, offerings attract more than 800 students taking Peace Studies and cross-listed classes, with at least one class enrollment of about 70. There are more than 30 Peace Studies majors and minors.

Dunkley says these students likely see the value in liberal arts courses – enhancing their educational experiences. “So, if they are taking courses in the hard sciences, they want to understand what some of the social and human rights issues are that can impact their field, whether it be the STEM subjects, medicine, public health, or law. They want to understand issues around class and race and so on.”

Investment in Peace

Dunkley arrived at MU in 2014 and said he was a regular attendee of Peace Studies speaking events and was invited to some of the informal gatherings.

“I’ve always been very connected to the traditional home of Peace Studies, which was the Sociology Department,” he adds.

“I have advised several sociology students, including doctoral students. I’m on the committee of one now.

“Over the years, I’ve seen Peace Studies broaden.” For example, racial injustice, including institutional racism, is now part of the program topics. Students and professors also discuss other challenging issues, such as nuclear proliferation and climate justice.

“So, what Peace Studies has done is show that the idea of peace, the pursuit of peace, is critical to all these conversations. Whether you are struggling against racism, class inequality, or gender inequality, the field of Peace Studies is important because it offers essential frameworks in which to help find a resolution to all these problems without conflict.”

Dunkley adds that one of the more critical developments of the program is that it can and is growing in popularity despite being a program, not a department.

“Student interest has grown, and also stakeholder interest in the program has grown significantly, even though the program is not as visible as it used to be … because of the pandemic or other issues. So, I think its ability to show its relevance and importance by pulling in support from students and donors is critical.”

Donors Support Program

The Peace Studies program has some large endowments that are incredible amounts for its size. Some of that comes from the Friends of Peace Studies, who have been supporters since the program’s origin. Others have come from many involved in the peace movements before the program’s inception until now. Donors come from all walks of life, all ages, and different backgrounds.

Peace Studies and Friends of Peace Studies are currently creating the Institute for Religion, Justice, and Politics (IRJP).

“Peace Studies is the sole partner with the Friends of Peace Studies on creating this institute. Its purpose is mainly to explore the intersection of the pursuit of peace, Christianity, and democracy. Dedicated to examining the relationships between these three subjects, the institute aims to spotlight themes of peace and justice and foster peaceful and ethical behavior.”

Dunkley also hopes to transition the program into a department within the university, he says – one that has significant connections to the community in terms of scholarship and outreach.

“I don’t know if that can be accomplished within three years; it may take longer, but I certainly want to set the foundation for that to happen. I also would like to see the program have its own faculty.

“Currently, it has adjunct faculty, people from other departments contribute time to teach and produce the courses in Peace Studies. Also, I want to offer fellowships to graduate students who will then teach in the program and conduct research that will help to build the profile of the program.”

He says growth, development, outreach, faculty, etc., are doable. “We have a good foundation already.”

He, like others, enjoys the speakers brought in by the program. He recently brought in via Zoom a speaker from Trinidad and two others from Puerto Rico. “So those things are amongst the most memorable to me,” he says.

Dreams of Director

And if money were not an issue? He’d hold a Peace Studies Conference that would pull in brilliant people from all over the world. He would also like Peace Studies to have the biggest Peace Concert in the U.S.

“Something everybody in the country will know about, like Woodstock,” he says. “Bringing in some of the big names associated with peace. Maybe one of Bob Marley’s children or Bruce Springsteen. That would be fantastic. That’d be amazing.”