From the Future: Different paths to peace

By SPENCER KELLY news writer

The issues of peace that dominate the headlines tend to focus on graphic displays of violence: war, shootings, assault. These issues are important. still, the pursuit of world peace goes beyond addressing immediate, obvious violence. The notre dame Kroc institute for international peace studies, a leading peace research center, notes that peace studies is an “interdisciplinary field” that involves “a broad range of pressing topics” related to peace. in this edition of From the Future, we profile three interdisciplinary researchers studying overlooked paths to ending violence and promoting peace in the realms of urban infrastructure, social movements and developmental anthropology.

Physical structures of violence and peace one of the Kroc institute’s areas of emphasis is “structural violence,” which refers to the ways violence or injustice are invisibly ingrained in the organization of society. however, gwendolyn purifoye, assistant professor of racial justice and conflict transformation, researches how structural violence can manifest in a literal sense: in the physical structures of our built environment. a sociologist by training, purifoye recalled how her experience riding public transportation in chicago shaped her perceptions of how urban infrastructure can have implications for peace.

“The more i rode the buses and the trains, the more i really became attentive to the physical environment,” purifoye said. “i began to really start paying attention to how our material space impacted not only how people were experiencing their lives, but also experiencing each other.” in a 2020 paper, “Transit a ffinities,” co-written with derrick brooms, purifoye found that social interactions inside buses and train cars varied depending on the external environment. w hen moving through underdeveloped, predominantly black communities on the south side of chicago, conversations became more personal and interactions between strangers increased. once transport entered the north side of the city, open conversations would cease. purifoye described this phenomenon as “mobile communities” that developed for the black community inside of public transportation while their external environment deteriorated.

“That brought a level of peace going through these areas of the city,” purifoye said. “That’s often not talked about when we talk about areas of the city that may have some material struggles and also have some economic struggles — what about all these things that bring joy sophomore class senators. s zotko is a business major and political science minor, while s tokes is a political science and public service major. s zotko and s tokes believe this communication will allow for a student government that works better for all. s zotko and s tokes will assume their positions this spring.

The duo’s campaign focused on getting the student body more involved in student government and improving student government’s communication with those students.

“ we hope to create a better college for everyone, including g ateways, four-year students, athletes and commuters,” s zotko and s tokes said.