2021-2023 Baker Institute Annual Report

Editorial content for the 2021–2022 Annual Report of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies was written and produced by former Baker Institute Program Coordinator, Stacia Fleegal and current Program Coordinator Kaitlyn Granger. Assistance was provided by April Feagley, Assistant Director of Communication, and the Baker Institute Juniata Associate, Melanie Thorn ’23. Layout and design by Angie Ciccarelli, Graphic Designer.

From the Director

ON THE COVER:

Top: Via Canva, (Creative Commons license).

Middle: Via Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash (Creative Commons license).

Bottom: Peace is Everybody’s Business, by Marta Daniels, provided by Baker Institute staff.

It is with deep gratitude and pleasure that I present to you the 2021–2022 Annual Report of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College. As the newly–appointed director of the Institute, I am extremely appreciative of the amount of support that I am receiving from my PACS colleagues, college administration, staff, and students. Your unwavering commitment to the mission of the Baker Institute inspires us all, and I am enthusiastically looking forward to working with you all to advance the goals and mission of the Institute.

One of the important priorities I have as director is to maintain the vitality of the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Program in the Liberal Arts College curriculum and to enhance the visibility of the Baker Institute’s works across campus and beyond. In this year’s publication, we will be showcasing some of the important work that the Baker Institute has been doing in addressing war, conflict, peace, and justice. You will read about stories of impact, students’ accomplishments, and learn about our initiatives.

For more information on the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS)

Department at Juniata College:

www.juniata.edu/pacs

Follow us:

Facebook Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Twitter @Juniatapacs

Instagram /@Juniatapacs

Conflicts across different frontlines at national and global levels remind us daily of the value of the work we do at the Baker Institute. I firmly believe in the work of the Baker Institute and the impact it has on the field of peacebuilding. I am committed to advancing the mission of the Institute—to apply the resources of the academic community to the study of warfare and deep-rooted conflict as human problems and the study of peace as a human potential.

My vision for the Institute is to increase our reach and impact and to continue to provide the best possible undergraduate education in Peace and Conflict Studies to prepare our students for the 21st century’s challenges. We have generated some momentum in that direction. This year, Juniata’s International Studies Program moved to the PACS department, a comprehensive strategy was created with the college enrollment team to improve understanding of the Baker Institute’s current programs, and important updates have been made to the Institute’s website to highlight the opportunities available to students such as funding, networking, research, and travel.

I thank you for your continued support of the Baker Institute. I am excited about what the future holds, and I look forward to working with all of you to achieve our shared goals of peace and justice.

ZIA HAQUE, PH.D. Director, The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies

Weprovideanexcellentundergraduate education in Peace and Conflict Studies to students of Juniata College, including an emphasis on both practical and theoretical knowledge and preparation for graduate education and useful careers.

Weoffercontinuingadulteducation andcommunityoutreach in conflict management and war/peace studies through seminars, conferences, public lectures, and workshops.

The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies: Goals, Sponsorships, and Outreach

Our mission is to apply the resources of the academic community to the study of warfare and deep-rooted conflict as human problems and to the study of peace as a human potential.

Weprovideleadershipinthe developmentofPeaceandConflict Studies as an academic program through research, curriculum development, consultation, and education.

Weinitiateandsupportcooperation amongexistingprogramsand institutions to strengthen Peace and Conflict Studies in content and methodology, enhance its legitimacy, and develop its constituency both in and out of the academic community.

“We acknowledge that we are living and working on homelands of the Onyata’a:ka, the People of the Standing Stone, the Oneida Nation, who had a village here at the time of colonization.”

The Baker Institute is housed at the Oller Center for Peace and International Programs on the Juniata College Campus.

PHOTOS: (LEFT) MEGAN BRENNEMAN, (RIGHT) MARIAH DORSEY ’20

—The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies Staff

Strategic Academic Pathways Advisory Board

2021–2022

Anne C. Baker (She/Her) Trustee Emerita, Juniata College

Jim Borgardt, Ph.D. (He/Him) Chair, The Baker Institute Advisory Board

William W. Woolford Professor of Physics Department Chair, Physics

Randall Deike, Ph.D. (He/Him) Trustee, Juniata College

Henry Escuadro, Ph.D. (He/Him) Professor of Mathematics Department Chair, Mathematics

Alison Fletcher, Ph.D. (She/They) W. Newton & Hazel A. Long Professor of History

Sinead Gallagher, Ph.D. (She/Her) Assistant Professor of Accounting

El Kruglak, M.A. (They/Them) Alumni, Juniata College

Henry Thurston-Griswold, Ph.D. (He/Him) Professor of Spanish, Conflict Resolution & Mediation

Donna Weimer, Ph.D. (She/Her) Thornbury Professor of Communication Department Chair, Communication and Theatre Arts

Student Representatives

Grace Cook-Huffman ’22 (She/Her)

Cultural Violence and Media Studies

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua ’23 (They/He)

Social Transformation and Mediation Capacity

Shanna Menendez ’22 (She/Her) International Peace Studies

Melanie Thorn ’23 (She/Her)

Environmental Policy and Peacebuilding

Conflict Analysis

For conflict transformation and sustainable peace

From war to workplace disputes, understand the different types of conflict, why they exist and persist, and how to transform them to build lasting peace through policy and practice, at home and abroad.

Conflict Resolution & Meditation

For cooperative violence prevention

Explore and practice alternative methodologies for conflict resolution that focus on cooperation and collaboration to eradicate violence and dismantle systemic oppression.

2023 graduates Mellanie Barns, Shanna Menendez, and Lucero Figueroa-Perez at a PACS student celebration.

Dialogue & Negotiation

For more productive discourse

Develop active listening and bargaining skills to contribute to more productive discourse in a variety of real-world contexts—because contemporary conflicts require us to have hard conversations.

Digital Peacebuilding

For more peaceful technology

Learn to analyze and respond to humanitarian disasters and crises using digital tools and technology to enhance and facilitate peaceful outcomes.

Peace Fellows 2021–2022

The following peacebuilders’ terms as Fellows of The Baker Institute were extended through 2022:

Daniel Bryan is an artist, activist, educator, and executive director of the Pachaysana Institute in Quito, Ecuador.

Jerry McCann is a licensed civil and structural engineer in the State of California and senior advisor to Build Up, which works with civic activists to find and apply innovative peacebuilding practices.

Caecilia van Peski is a Dutch diplomat, a licensed psychologist, and a practitioner in the field of peace and security, democratization, elections, and human rights, whose achievements have received national and international recognition.

Nonviolent Action & Social Justice

For more equitable communities History shows that building equitable and just societies is possible thanks to the transformative power of nonviolent action. Apply the theories and practice of nonviolence in different contemporary contexts.

What is Peace and Conflict Studies?

Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) is an interdisciplinary field that begins with the perspective that war and violence are not inevitable aspects of the human condition and that there are more productive and lasting means for addressing human conflicts. PACS draws from political science, sociology, history, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, among other disciplines.

Baker Institute Fellows offer the campus community a range of opportunities, including intensive, non-credit bearing seminars; mentoring; public lecturing; guest lecturing in classes; informal small-group dialogue; and networking.

PHOTOS: (LEFT) MELANIE THORN’23, (RIGHT) CANDICE HERSH

2021–2022 Sponsorships

The Baker Institute supported the following projects and institutions through sponsorship:

PEACE & JUSTICE STUDIES ASSOCIATION

The Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) serves as a professional association for scholars and practitioners in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. PJSA is dedicated to uniting academics, educators, and activists to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for peacebuilding, social justice, and social change.

As part of intuitional membership with PJSA, the Baker Institute presents Juniata students with the opportunity to attend PJSA conference sessions, though in-person attendance was discouraged throughout the COVID -19 pandemic. The 2021 conference took place from October 8–10 in a hybrid format. Juniata students, staff, and faculty had the opportunity to live-stream conference sessions remotely.

WAGING NONVIOLENCE

Waging Nonviolence is an independent, non-profit media platform dedicated to providing original reporting and expert analysis of social movements around the world.

IMPACT PROJECT

A collaboration between the Peacebuilding and the Arts Program at Brandeis University, The Baker Institute, and Maseno University in Kenya, IMPACT designed an infrastructure to strengthen the ecosystem of arts, culture, and conflict transformation (ACCT).

Many of our programs were virtual this year, including the PJSA Conference and the signing of the agreement between the Baker Institute and Linnaeus University.

Global Cooperation and Exchange

Linnaeus University, Sweden

Juniata College and Linnaeus University entered into an agreement of academic cooperation and exchange on February 15, 2022, a partnership that not only spans the Atlantic Ocean but crosses disciplines and backgrounds as well. The exchange agreement will continue Juniata’s mission of providing a personalized educational experience to empower students to lead a fulfilling life of service and ethical leadership in the global community. The partnership will promote international understanding and enhance educational and research opportunities for students, staff, and faculty at both Juniata College and Linnaeus University.

The moment marked Juniata’s first exchange agreement with an institution in Sweden, which was made possible through a connection between Zia Haque, director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, and Manuela Nilsson, associate

professor of Peace and Development Studies at Linnaeus University. The two met while Haque was a graduate student studying Peace and Development Studies at Linnaeus University.

“This is an excellent opportunity and a step forward in offering a world-class education to our students,” Haque says.

Nilsson adds that “this exchange agreement is an opportunity for all students at our two universities, but I am particularly pleased for the students in my area within Linnaeus University. The most successful and sustainable exchanges are rooted in personal relationships because that makes it go on and on. I’m confident this one will stand the test of time.”

Dr. Nilsson visited Juniata from April 26–May 1 and was able to connect with students and faculty to discuss the exchange program in detail, as well as attend several PACS classes.

Linnaeus representative Manuela Nilsson, acting Dean of International Education Jerry Kruse, and Director Zia Haque in front of the Oller Center for Peace and International Programs. PHOTOS: (FAR LEFT) CANDICE HERSH, (LEFT) 2021 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE—PEACE AND JUSTICE STUDIES ASSOCIATION (PEACEJUSTICESTUDIES.ORG), (RIGHT) CANDICE HERSH

Research and Professional Development

ZIA HAQUE, PH.D.

Director, The Baker Institute

Elizabeth Evans Baker Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College

Zia Haque, Ph.D., studies the transformative impacts of techbased conflict prevention and digital peacebuilding initiatives, and explores issues in the emerging field of peace technology. His current research investigates the impact of information and communication technology on social movements and elections. His work has supported the Baker Institute’s goal of providing leadership in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies as an academic program through research, curriculum development, consultation, and education.

Interviews and Publications:

Ziaul Haque and David Carroll. (2021) Assessing the Impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Electoral Integrity. Election Law Journal.

Interviewed: Kirsch, H. (February, 2022). Russia invades Ukraine. The Daily News, World.

Interviewed: Groppe, M. Vaden Brook, T. (May, 2022) Does Vladimir Putin have an endgame in Ukraine? The next few weeks are crucial. USA Today, Politics.

Presentations and Conferences:

Invited Speaker: Mapping Digital Hate: The Coronavirus, Anti-Asian Violence, and Social Stigmatization in the United States, with Joseph G. Bock, Peace History Society Conference. Georgia, USA. October 21–23, 2021.

Selected Virtual Representative: The City of the Future, with Crystal Sellers Battle and Caitlin Murphy. Global Senior Leadership Symposium. D.C., USA. December 16, 2022.

Invited Speaker: Peacetech: Engineering to Change the World, Peace and Conflict Studies at Manchester University. Indiana, USA. April 22, 2022.

Fellowships and Awards:

Wharton Social Impact Initiative: WISE Summer Fellowship, awarded to continue academic research on the margin of victory and electoral integrity in United States elections.

Professor Haque teaching Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies.

STACIA FLEEGAL

Former Program Coordinator, the Baker Institute Stacia Fleegal became a certified mediator in August 2021 and led a restructured version of PACS 108: Mediation in Spring 2022. Fleegal spent five eight-hour days in late summer participating in a virtual mediation certification program through Kennesaw State University’s Center for Conflict Management, which included presentations and role-play simulations of real-world civil and family-mediated conflicts.

Once certified, Fleegal spent the Fall 2021 semester restructuring the existing mediation course offered by the Peace and Conflict Studies program. Previously, the course had been a variable-credit offering of either one, two, or three-weekend intensive training. Fleegal built a new syllabus for a three-credit semester-long course, utilizing updated texts, gathering effective role-play activities, and designing a final video project that tasked students with writing, acting, and producing their own mediation simulations.

Fleegal, who holds a Masters of Fine Arts in English and possesses prior teaching experience, enjoyed the opportunity to branch out and add new skills to both her repertoire and the Baker Institute’s cadre of practitioners. She especially loved facilitating small-group role-play activities for her students and watching their exceptional final video projects.

Former Program Coordinator Stacia Fleegal leading students through mediation role play.

Communication and Conflict Resolution freshman Amelia Kiepke in Mediation 108.

The Baker Institute Scholar in Residence

AMR ABDALLA, PH.D.

Professor Emeritus at the United Nationsmandated University for Peace (UPEACE), with main campus in Costa Rica

Dr. Abdalla is a Professor Emeritus at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) at their main campus in Costa Rica. He is also the Senior Advisor on Conflict Resolution at the Washington-based organization KARAMAH (Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights). Abdalla has taught undergraduate and graduate classes in conflict analysis and resolution and has conducted training, research, and evaluation of conflict resolution and peacebuilding programs in more than 70 different countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. A former senior advisor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University, Vice President of SALAM Institute for Peace and Justice in Washington, D.C., Professor, Dean, and Vice Rector at UPEACE, Dr. Abdalla holds a law degree as well as a master’s in sociology and a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University.

In joining the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies as the 2021–2022 Scholar in Residence, Dr. Abdalla has been instrumental in helping the PACS department develop partnerships with other peacebuilding organizations and institutions, as well as increasing the Baker Institute’s visibility on and off campus. Amr Abdalla taught two classes, hosted a lecture, and established a conflict resolution workshop for the campus community during his first semester with the Baker Institute.

“Juniata College has given me a venue to explore and pursue my goals in the peace studies field. I want Juniata to be known around the world as a pioneer of peace studies, to build upon the legacy of The Baker Institute.”

—Amr

Abdalla

Amr Abdalla leading the campus community workshop on conflict resolution.

Lecture: Life After Peace Studies

Amr Abdalla presented a lecture titled “Life After Peace Studies” on February 22, 2022. Dr. Abdalla posited that a degree in peace and conflict studies (PACS) opens doors for a myriad of jobs and opportunities in all sectors- from business to government, to international organizations and NGOs. In this presentation, Dr. Abdalla reflected on how his PACS degree advanced his professional career, and shared stories about the work he has done worldwide that had a direct positive impact on issues of social justice, empowerment, and peacebuilding.

Workshop: Conflict Resolution

Dr. Zia Haque and Dr. Amr Abdalla led a conflict resolution workshop for 24 faculty, staff, and administrators on March 4, 2022. They focused on academic community settings, using real-life scenarios of conflicts common among faculty, administrative staff, and students. The workshop applied interactive, participatory methods for analyzing conflicts and designing peaceful approaches to conflict resolution, the purpose of which was to enhance participants’ pertinent communication and conflict resolution skills that will be effective in the college environment.

PHOTOS: (LEFT TOP) HOLLY USES ‘22, (LEFT BOTTOM) CANDICE HERSH, (RIGHT) CANDICE HERSH

Amr Abdalla and Zia Haque met at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, while Haque was completing his master’s degree.

What is Peace and Conflict Studies? Strategic Peacebuilding Paths

Law: Advocacy and Solidarity

Dealing with Transnational and Global Threats

Restorative Justice

Transitional Justice Development

Structural and Institutional Change

Justice and Healing

Trauma Healing

Education

Violence Prevention, Conflict Response and Transformation

Humanitarian Action

Dialogue/ Conflict Resolution Strategies

Non-Violent Social Change

Government and Multi-Lateral Efforts

Guests of Juniata College

The Baker Institute: 2021–2022

Speakers

POLLY WALKER, PH.D.

October 12, 2021

Lecturer; Professor Emeritus at Juniata College; Director Emeritus of the Baker Institute

Dr. Polly Walker, Juniata College Associate Professor Emeritus and member of the Cherokee Southwest Township, gave a virtual lecture titled “Cry for Justice: Addressing the Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Boarding Schools,” in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 11. Dr. Polly Walker is well known in the Peace Studies field for her work with cross-cultural issues in conflict transformation, Indigenous approaches to peace, and the role of ritual and performance in peacebuilding. Walker’s lecture explored the discovery of the unmarked graves at boarding schools in Canada, Deb Haaland’s calls for an inquiry into the Indian boarding schools in the U.S., and a process underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico (where Walker now lives) to honor the Native children who died at an Indian boarding school in the region, which is now a public park and unmarked.

JOSEPH G. BOCK, PH.D.

October 28, 2021

Professor; Director of the School of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University

Dr. Joseph G. Bock serves as The Director of the School of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s Department of Political Science and International Affairs. His humanitarian work has brought him to crisis areas around the world. Bock has worked in Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza Strip, Pakistan, and Rwanda, to name a few. Dr. Joseph Bock’s lecture at Juniata College was titled “What if Gandhi had a Smartphone? How the Field of Peace and Conflict Studies is Changing”. This lecture explored how social media, big data, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and computational speed are changing the nature of the conflict between individuals, communities, states, and nation-states. Bock is a scholar on the role technology serves in nonviolent social movements

JACOBA ROCK, PH.D.

November 10, 2021, and November 16, 2021

Professor; Forensic Social Work Scholar and Practitioner

Dr. Jacoba Rock is a leader in opportunities and initiatives that support trauma-informed restorative justice for incarcerated populations. During a two-part, five-hour workshop titled “Restorative Justice 101”, Dr. Rock was invited to unpack the restorative justice process and give a comprehensive historical and theoretical overview, before leading dedicated participants in simulation and role play to build restorative justice skills. This event was sponsored by the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies with the support of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Office of the Provost. The workshop was offered to faculty, students, staff, and administration at Juniata College who wanted to explore collaborative and restorative conflict resolution approaches.

PETER COLEMAN, PH.D.

April 6, 2022

Lecturer; Executive Director of Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity in the Earth Institute

Dr. Coleman is a renowned expert on constructive conflict resolution and sustainable peace. His current research focuses on conflict intelligence and systemic wisdom as meta-competencies for navigating conflict constructively across all levels (from families to companies to communities to nations). The research includes projects on adaptive negotiation and mediation dynamics, cross-cultural adaptivity, justice and polarization, multicultural conflict, and sustainable peace.

Dr. Coleman edits the award-winning Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000, 2006, 2014), and has published six books of his own. Dr. Coleman recently published a book on breaking through the intractable polarization plaguing the U.S. and other societies across the globe, titled, “The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization”, which was the focus of his lecture on campus.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF POLLY WALKER: ARTS, CULTURAL WORK, AND CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION | TED TALK

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOSEPH BOCK

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JACOBA ROCK

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JONATHAN HEISLER

Baker Institutional Updates and Internal Improvements

Enrollment:

A comprehensive strategy was created with the college enrollment team to improve their understanding of the Baker Institute’s current programs and student opportunities. This strategy has been helpful to recruit prospective students to the Baker Institute and to increase the visibility of the Peace and Conflict Studies department. The Baker Institute has established active collaboration with Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing, Jason Moran, and Senior Associate Dean of Admission and Marketing, Steven Simons. This collaboration is crucial for identifying gaps and opportunities for our organization.

Curriculum—International Studies:

The work of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies is inherently interdisciplinary, combining the fields of politics, history, sociology, business, and economics. In the 2021–2022 academic year, the International Studies program at Juniata was brought under the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) department with an updated curriculum. This transition has increased the number of students involved in PACS and visibility on campus. The International Studies program challenges students to understand both the diversity of human experience and the interconnectedness of problems in our increasingly global political, economic, and cultural environments. The Baker Institute is excited to house three POEs: Peace and Conflict Studies, Communication and Conflict Resolution, and International Studies.

Aerial photo of Juniata College during peak fall foliage.

Website:

To increase the visibility of the Baker Institute, important updates have been made to the institute’s website. These improvements highlight the opportunities available to students such as funding, networking, research, and travel. The website has been restructured with the help of Isaac Baker, Director of Web Design at Juniata College. Additional improvements to the Baker Institute website will be worked upon in the 2022–2023 school year.

Director Zia Haque and Scholar in Residence Amr Abdalla during the Spring Conflict Resolution Training.

PHOTO: CANDICE HERSH

Student Involvement with The Baker Institute: 2021–2022

Class of 2022

Sarah J. Borgardt (She/Her)

International Politics

Secondary Emphasis in Economics and PACS

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Grace Cook-Huffman (She/Her)

Cultural Violence and Media Studies

Huntingdon, Pa.

Eva L. Curlee (She/Her)

Economics/International Studies

Oakmont, Pa.

Keisuke Maeda (He/Him)

International Studies

Nerima-Ku, Japan

Julia P. McIntosh (She/Her)

International Studies

Secondary Emphasis in PACS

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Shanna L. Menendez (She/Her)

International Peace Studies

Sicklerville, N.J.

Baker Institute Student Employees

Juniata Associate: Shanna Menendez ’22

Student Assistants: Melanie Thorn ’23 and Amelia Kasdorf ’25

Baker Institute Advisory Board Student Members

Shanna Menendez ’22

Grace Cook-Huffman ’22

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua ’23

Melanie Thorn ’23

Advisory Board Member Donna Weimer with Zakira Watts at the Communications Honor Society which acknowledged many Communications and PACS students including Olivia Mast ’23.

Shanna Menendez with family at the 2022 May graduation ceremony.

Student Conferences

Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference (PJSA)

The 2021 PJSA Conference took place from October 8 to October 10 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually. The conference invited peace and justice scholars, students, and community-based practitioners to explore the intersections of health, equity, justice, and peacebuilding. The COVID-19 pandemic took a central position at the conference, as the PJSA & WIPCS website states, “The roots of health disparities stretch back in history with colonization practices and are laid bare again by COVID-19. The rawness of our recent crisis provides an important opportunity to explore the depth of health hierarchies.” Virtual access to this conference was made available to PACS students, faculty, and staff..

Student Internships

The Baker Institute Paid Summer Internship Program sends students out into the world to practice and build on the skills they’re developing in Peace and Conflict Studies courses. To connect students with meaningful experiential learning opportunities during the summer months, the Baker Institute established its Summer Internship Program in the Spring of 2022. The Baker Institute Summer Internship Paid Program provides financial and organizational support to students interested in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Search for Common Ground

The Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies established a partnership with Search for Common Ground in April of 2022 to allow Juniata College students to join this organization for summer internships. Search for Common Ground is an international non-governmental organization that works to end violent conflict and build just societies, and is the largest dedicated peacebuilding organization. Since 1982, Search for Common Ground has expanded its operation to 31 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Its mission is to transform the way the world approaches conflict—away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. In the summer of 2022, Deon Mendez (He/Him) was the first student to engage with this program. Mendez is a senior with a POE in Peace and Conflict Studies and a Secondary Emphasis in Management and Criminal Justice.

Deon Mendez pictured at the White House in Washington, D.C., while working at Search for Common Ground.

Student Assistant Melanie Thorn ’23 studied abroad in Lille, France for the Spring Semester. Her studies focused on food insecurity and peace.

Student Publications

The Complicated Success of Sex Strikes

Erin Tansimore ’20 (She/Her)

Published digitally on September 29, 2021

Erin Tansimore graduated from Juniata College in 2020 with a degree in Environmental and Gender Studies. An aspiring environmental justice activist, she works in conservation and is pursuing a graduate degree in environmental humanities. In the Fall of 2021, Erin published an essay titled “The Complicated Success of Sex Strikes”. In this essay, Tansimore expands on how withholding sex as a form of protest has been effective throughout history, but it has also contributed to the objectification and oppression of women.

Excerpt:

Sex strikes, or Lysistratic non-action, have been successful protest tools for communities of women for centuries. From the vast differences in strikes throughout the world, it is clear that the withdrawal of sex as a political statement is not, as Morales explains, “a universal, a historical act, easily transferrable from one context to another.” Instead, sex strikes are complicated and effect change in many ways. They also contribute to the perpetuation of women’s oppression, harmful heteronormativity, marginalization or erasure of both sex workers and LGBTQ+ women, as well as the reduction of women to sexual objects and reproductive machines. Although we should not overlook the power of women to choose to engage in a sex strike, we must also be aware that the necessity for Lysistratic non-action stems from the objectification and oppression of women that continues to ravage societies around the world. Read more on the Waging Nonviolence: People Powered News and Analysis website: https://wagingnonviolence.org/baker/2021/09/thecomplicated-success-of-sex-strikes-lysistra/

Studying abroad on the frontlines of México’s migrant struggle

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua ’23 (They/He)

Published digitally on April 19, 2022

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua is a first-generation Chicano student at Juniata College from Wilmington, Delaware. They are a dual POE student studying Social Work and an individualized study in the peace and conflict field, “Social Transformation and Mediation Capacity.” Cruzilious focuses on participatory action research and leads a multicultural organization named ‘Plexus’ on campus. In the Spring of 2022, Contreras-Amezcua published an essay titled “Studying Abroad on the Frontlines of México’s Migrant Struggle”. In this essay, Contreras-Amezcua describes their trip to migrant shelters in Chiapas, Mexico, and how that experience impacted their view on social work and peace in the United States.

Excerpt:

There is no simple way to define peace. Peace between different countries does not mean the immediate needs of those fleeing or leaving their home countries are met. While cartel groups and other violent organizations could be dismembered, that does not solve the trauma families have faced throughout their journeys. That does not fix burnt down homes or bring deceased family members back.

In the United States, we see conflict through a punitive lens. If a violent organization does wrong, we feel that taking apart that organization is equivalent to justice. Punishing those who have caused harm is not the means to all of justice. If those who were harmed are not supported after the dismemberment of an organization, there is no true justice. Without restorative healing for what the victims have experienced, lost, and need, as a result of violence, true justice is not possible.

Read more on the Waging Nonviolence: People Powered News and Analysis website: https://wagingnonviolence.org/baker/2022/04/mexicochiapas-migrant-shelters-study-abroad/

Feminist artwork created by PACS alum Kail Penner ’20 with a POE in Art, Culture, and Conflict Transformation.

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua pictured with staff at La Casa De La Mujer Migrante in Chiapas.

Student Research Student Events

Liberal Arts Symposium

April 21, 2022

The Juniata College Liberal Arts Symposium is a day-long celebration of student research and scholarship. The Liberal Arts Symposium highlights the scholarly and creative work that students do in the classroom, in the laboratory, in the field, in the community, on the stage, and in the studio. Not only do students showcase their excellence in their discipline, but they see what other departments have to offer and what their fellow classmates have been working on throughout the year.

ISIS Combatants’ Theology of Rape: How do Jihadists Justify Acts of Sexual Violence During War?

Stephanie Hyland Winter ’21 (She/Her)

Sponsor: Zia Haque, Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstract:

Between 2014 and 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) in a vast swath of Iraq and Syria committed brutal atrocities and sexual violence against Yazidi women. ISIS Jihadists, as a part of systemic assault and rape against a religious minority group, captured, traded, and sold Yazidi women into sex slavery. While sexual violence in armed conflicts is often used as a strategy of war, a sizable amount of feminist literature links these acts with masculinity and violence to shame, humiliate communities, and assert power. Another group of scholars, however, argues that feminist frameworks are too rigid to explain the subject nuances of Jihadists’ use of sexual violence. This study contextualizes these debates and explores the applicability of the feminist masculinityviolence framework to assess and explain the dynamics of sexual violence committed by ISIS Jihadists. This presentation will explore these frameworks and different religious and cultural norms that aid in Jihadist justification of acts of sexual violence.

Welcome Picnic

August 30, 2021

The Baker Institute hosted a picnic to welcome faculty and students back to campus. The event was held on the Oller Center’s outdoor patio, and students were able to become familiar with the Oller Center and the staff. Attendees connected with our new director, Dr. Zia Haque, and learned more about the new additions to the Peace and Conflict Studies program.

Peace Week

September 21, 2021

The International Day of Peace is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on September 21. On this day, Juniata College’s Peace Studies Club, PAX-O, set up an information table on the college quad. The table was organized by Juniata Associate Shanna Menendez ’22, and Student Assistant Melanie Thorn ’23. College students passing by on the college quad were asked, “What does peace mean to you?”. The club invited students to decorate the sidewalk with peace quotes and images.

Informal Panel and Discussion on the War in Ukraine

March 9, 2022

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an invasion on Ukraine, marking the beginning of the largest war in Europe since the Second World War. Juniata students across all disciplines were shocked by the outbreak of violence in Europe and requested a forum in which to process and learn about this conflict. The Provost’s Office organized an on-campus expert panel on the Ukraine crisis. Zia Haque, Director of The Baker Institute, was invited to serve on this panel and share his perspective and answer questions about the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian government.

Communication and Conflict Resolution student, Stephanie Hyland.

Department picnic with affiliated staff and students.