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Course Focus — "Peace, Conflict and Literature"
Gaining a global perspective of world conflict
By Meagan Parrish
 For as long as humans have existed, the brutal act of war has shaped the boundaries of our lives. And the peacemakers, such as Muhatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., have come along with the burning desire to eliminate these barriers caused by hate and misunderstanding.
Now students of MATC who enroll in a new three-credit course titled “Peace, Conflict and Literature- The Arts of The Contact Zone” will have an opportunity to explore the prominent ideas of peace that have arisen from world, regional and local areas of conflict.
According to Amy Minett, the English instructor who designed this unique course, one of the lessons students will learn is that there is no simple path to peace.
“Literature may not have definitive answers for conflicts, but it can certainly deepen, complicate and enrich our understanding of it,” Minett said.
At a time when finding a viable plan for peace is part of the daily dialogue in mainstream American politics, the discussion a class like this will provoke could not be more timely. Nevertheless, Minett said she envisioned this course long before America’s troubles in the Middle East.
Minett began to formulate the idea during a stint with the U.S. Peace Corps from 1993 to 2002. Minett spent most of her time stationed in Hungary. She worked at a refugee camp for Bosnians fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia. It was here that she learned what it’s like to be in a dangerous world conflict.
“I was able to hear the voices of the people on both sides, and it made me want to make sure that the work that I was doing could have some impact on peace building or social justice,” she explained.
After she began teaching English at MATC in 2004 and reading the papers of MATC students, Minett said she was again struck by how important the issues of peace and war have become.
“I’ve had so many students who are just back from Iraq and are really struggling. They put on a cheerful face but write essays about what they are really experiencing,” Minett said.
Students taking Minett’s course will examine a plethora of “peace writers,” such as Gandhi , King, Kurt Vonnegut, Pope John XX111, Mother Jones, and Joseph Fahey, to name a few. The main textbook for the course is Peace Reader: Essential Readings on War, Justice, Non-Violence, and World Order. However, Minett also encourages the students to choose much of the coursework for themselves.
“We’ll be examining all aspects of peace literature, and this includes essays, plays, movies, poetry, even music lyrics from songwriters such as Bob Dylan, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize,” she said.
Minett also envisions having guest speakers from groups such as Vets for Peace and the Peace Corps.
“Students will also be invited to work for peace in some community organization and report back on that,” she added.
In addition to writing traditional essays, Minett said she will also allow students to present their work in a way that best suits their individual talents, such as songwriting or visual arts. The idea, Minett explained, is to create a real collaborative effort between the teacher and student as well as learn about the power of participation.
“I think one thing that a course like this can do is demonstrate the power of bottom-up participation in a process,” she said.
Minett said she is hoping the course “draws a diverse pool of people who bring in their perspective.”
For those who take the course, the material should offer a way to understand the complications of war and the hope for peace.
“We can take lessons for living from literature and that’s what I’m hoping students will take away from it,” Minett said.
Meagan Parrish is an MATC journalism student enrolled in the Liberal Studies Program.
(Note: Photo contributed by Amy Minett.) |
