Citation

Arnaldi J, Hudson J. Peace Change 2009; 34(4): 493-503.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Peace History Society; Peace and Justice Studies Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00596.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article describes a course that critically explored the ethics of war and peace within the historical context of the War in Iraq. Education has a central role in preparing students to deal with the challenges of organized violence and human security. Because academic and policy discourse about the ethics of war is often abstract and impersonal, it can fail to address vital human interests. This course was designed to provide compelling content that included first-person, subjective perspectives on the costs of war in terms of human suffering. Undergraduate students enrolled in the course had limited knowledge of history and current events, so content had to provide reasonable historical context to enable meaningful discussion of ethical concepts.