The Master of Arts in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs offers an ethical response to contemporary global problems. This 39-credit, interdisciplinary program is offered jointly by International Peace and Conflict Resolution in the School of International Service and the Department of Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences. The program prepares students broadly in the practical application of ethical theory and policy analysis to difficult ethical choices in global affairs, and specifically to the dynamics of war, peace, and conflict resolution. Hallmarks of the curriculum include interdisciplinary inquiry; solid grounding in the foundational concepts and issues of both philosophical ethics and international affairs, practical applications of ethical and policy analysis to contemporary social problems in global affairs; and interactive teaching utilizing case studies, simulations, interactive exercises, and intensive class discussion.

The following courses are required for all Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs graduate students.  The first two are offered by the School of International Service and the second two are offered by the Department of Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Peace Paradigms (SIS 607)

This course examines the history and development of contending approaches to peace, their basic assumptions and methodologies, and their application to current conflict situations, with particular emphasis upon the following: peace through coercive power; peace through nonviolence; peace through world order; and peace through personal and community transformation.
 

Ethics and International Affairs (SIS 614)

This course studies how different ethical traditions address central moral problems in international affairs including: approaches to terrorism; the demands and limits of patriotism; the international drug trade; religious conflict; the use of force and humanitarian intervention; nuclear testing; international distributive justice; foreign debt and economic development; and multinational corporations and global environmental crises.  The ethical traditions considered include: realism; natural law; declaratory international law; cosmopolitanism; utilitarianism; contractarianism; liberalism; and feminist critiques. Using a case study approach, the course considers how each of these traditions may provide guidelines and vocabulary for ethical judgment.
 

Modern Moral Problems (PHIL 525)

Investigation of moral philosophers’ attempts to analyze specific moral problems (e.g., abortion, euthanasia, pornography, surrogate parenting, capital punishment, economic justice, affirmative action, research with human subjects, genetic research, government secrecy and deception) and to formulate general principles for ethical analysis of social policies and professional ethics (for lawyers, doctors, etc.).
 

Global Ethics (PHIL 693)

This course involves the discussion of ethics, ethical systems, and the presuppositions of mediation from a cross-cultural perspective.