Mershon Center to hold Peace Matters conference

Interdisciplinary workshop considers both academic, practical issues

COLUMBUS -- The Mershon Center for International Security Studies will hold “Peace Matters: A Forum on the Discipline and Practice of Peace and Conflict Studies” on Friday-Saturday, May 11-12, at The Ohio State University’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Ave.

This conference, co-sponsored by the Ohio Council of Churches, will be an interdisciplinary workshop on peace and conflict studies in the United States. It is free and open to the public.

Day One will concentrate on how the subject is taught at U.S. universities, where it should head in the future, and how to institutionalize its presence in campus curricula. Day Two will feature peace activists from Ohio and beyond, highlighting practical steps that people interested in peace can take beyond the confines of the academy.

Featured participants in the conference include Joyce Neu, Executive Director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice and Professor of Practice at the University of San Diego. Neu is currently a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The conference also includes representatives from the Interfaith Center for Peace, Institute for Human Rights and Responsibilities, Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, Christian Peacemaker Teams, and Central Ohioans for Peace.

For more information, including a complete list of participants and schedule of events, please see the conference website or contact Mershon Center Peace Studies Coordinator Julie Clemens.

WHAT: “Peace Matters: A Forum on the Discipline and Practice of Peace and Conflict Studies”

WHEN: Friday-Saturday, May 11-12, 2007, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio

WHY: The conference includes not just an academic consideration of peace and conflict studies, but will also highlight practical steps that people interested in peace can take beyond the confines of the academy.

About the Mershon Center for International Security Studies
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies advances the understanding of national security in a global context by fostering interdisciplinary faculty and student research in three areas of focus: the use of force and diplomacy; the ideas, identities, and decisional processes that affect security; and the institutions that manage violent conflict. The Mershon Center is a unit of the Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University.