College Hosts Third Annual Peace Initiative Week

Rhonda Swickert, psychology professor

The public is invited to join the College of Charleston community in its third annual Peace Initiative Week, March 2–6, 2020. Sponsored by the College of Charleston Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Department of Psychology and School of Humanities and Social Sciences, all Peace Initiative events are free and open to the public.

The Peace Initiative opens up the conversation about the current state of discord in our world and discusses working for social justice using principles of peace within the individual, community and society to more effectively address the challenges of social fragmentation. The take-home message is that a better understanding of those with differing views helps us work together to address the problems we face.

“The idea is that cultivating peace throughout the world starts with cultivating peace within yourself,” says Rhonda Swickert, psychology professor, director of the College’s Mindfulness Initiative and faculty advisor for the College’s Meditation Club. “The hope is that we can become agents of change – both for ourselves and for the world.”

The schedule of events is as follows:

Co-constructing Community: Finding Peace
March 2, 3:15–4:15 p.m.
Robert Scott Small Building, room 252
Katie Houser, Mary White and Ryan Stone, N.E. Miles Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC)

Confronting Hate: The Role of Meditation in Winning Hearts and Minds
March 3, 3:15–4:15 p.m.
Robert Scott Small Building, room 252
Rhonda Swickert, from the Department of Psychology

Mending the Fracture Lines: Strategies for Promoting Peace Along Ireland’s Borders
March 4, 10–11 a.m.
Addlestone Library, room 227
Moore Quinn, Department of Anthropology and Sociology

A Force More Powerful: A Film on Nonviolent Resistance
March 5, 6–7:15 p.m.
Thaddeus Street Jr. Education Center, room 118

ECDC and Memminger Elementary Peace Parade at the College of Charleston
March 6, 10–10:30 a.m.
Cistern Yard

Meditation Retreat
March 6, 3–6 p.m.
Multicultural Student Programs and Services, 207 Calhoun St.
Register for this free retreat led by Rachael McNamara from the Counseling Center at connect2hope.cofc.edu.