Center for Peace and Justice Education at Villanova University

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Center for Peace and Justice Education at Villanova University

Welcome to the Center for Peace & Justice Education. We are an interdisciplinary academic program that focuses on the issues of social justice and peace.

We are an interdisciplinary academic program, informed by the Catholic social tradition, that focuses on issues of social justice and peace. Our curriculum is challenging and innovative, and attracts some of Villanova's finest faculty and students. We welcome donations to the Center to carry out the mission of the University by contributing to the search for world peace and social justice through

education rooted in the Jewish and Christian traditions generally, and Catholic Social Teaching in particular. Come check us out!

05/04/2026

Villanova’s Center for Peace and Justice Education hosted the Alliance to End Human Trafficking symposium on Anti-Human Trafficking at Sporting and Other Large Events.

This timely conversation brought together leaders across advocacy, law, healthcare, and community response to examine risks and strengthen prevention strategies connected to major events.

We are especially grateful to our speakers: Meaghan Patterson, SSJ, MSW; Shea M. Rhodes, Esquire; John-Michael Lander; Catherine Curley PhD, RN; and Karissa Wenk, for sharing their expertise and advancing this important dialogue.

Thank you to for all their hard work!

05/02/2026

The Center for Peace and Justice Education is hosting a summer reading group on On Hunger by Dana Simmons (University of California Press, 2025).

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to sign up for in-person or virtual meetings. Both groups will meet on Mondays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 12:00 - 1:30 PM. The first 30 people to register will receive a free copy of the book, to be picked up from CPJE in St. Rita Hall.

Check our LinkTree if you are interested in signing up!

Any questions? Contact Ray Ward ([email protected]).

05/01/2026

TAKE A BREAK, COME PAINT THE MURAL!

All students, faculty, and staff are invited to help paint a section of the new St. Rita mural. Custom designed by Philly-based artist Becky McIntyre for St. Rita Hall, the mural is the product of synodal listening and group brainstorming sessions, and will be installed in the lower level Lounge over the summer.

Drop-in Sessions
11:00AM - 3:00PM
St. Rita Community Room
Friday, May 1
Monday & Tuesday, May 4 - 5

No artistic talent required!

04/30/2026

🌟Fall 2026 PJ Class Spotlight🌟

PJ 3000-001
TR 8:30-9:45
Dr. Suraj Chaudhary

This course examines how the spaces and structures of everyday life embody and reproduce systems of power and inequality. Guided by ideas from humanistic and critical geography, students will develop an understanding of how spatial practices, representations, and lived experiences contribute to the production and maintenance of unjust power relations, particularly in urban environments. The course addresses issues such as public space, urban inequality, gentrification, environmental degradation and the uneven distribution of environmental harms, mobility and accessibility, the commodification of urban life, and racial and socioeconomic segregation.

Students will also participate in walking explorations of Villanova’s surrounding spaces, including parts of Philadelphia, in order to observe and analyze concrete examples of the issues discussed in class. Finally, the course explores whether—and how—emerging virtual spaces, such as social media, reproduce or transform patterns of power and exclusion commonly found in geographical spaces.

04/28/2026

🌟 Fall 2026 PJ Attribute Class Spotlight 🌟

PSC 4475:001
MWF 9:35-10:25
Dr. Colleen Mitchell

What does it mean to be a ‘feminist’ and what are the major themes and movements in the history of feminist political thought? This class introduces students to historical and contemporary feminist theories to think about ways in which women have been oppressed and how they might be liberated. We will discuss the kinds of issues that are important for feminist thinkers, such as equality, the family, the public/private distinction, patriarchy, s*x, po*******hy, violence, power, inclusion, empowerment, and recognition. We will also study intersectionality and the relationship between race, class, and gender identity, as well as how intersectional frameworks can be used as a lens through which to view political life and think more broadly about oppression and domination.

�Readings for this course will include works by Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Shulamith Firestone, Judith Butler, Susan Moller Okin, Catharine Mackinnon, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, and Patricia Hill Collins.

This class has Peace and Justice and Gender and Women’s Studies attributes

04/17/2026

🌟 Fall 2026 PJ Class Spotlight 🌟

PJ 5000-001: Growing into Justice through Agriculture
TR 1:00 - 2:15 PM
Dr. Chara Armon

⭐️ Join us for readings, discussions, work on local farms, and multi-media learning to explore ecologically sound food and agriculture and their relationship to sustainable and socially responsible lifestyles.
⭐️ Topics will include food justice and food security, urban food deserts in Philadelphia and elsewhere, human health, biodiversity, industrial agriculture, permaculture, and global water issues.
⭐️ Consideration of how religious, political, and economic belief systems impact agricultural practices and food availability will be woven throughout the course as we read, discuss, watch films, visit local farms, and hear from guest speakers who are active in sustainable agriculture.
⭐️ Farm work at local urban farms will be a significant aspect of the course and will accommodate students’ schedules as best as possible.

03/30/2026

Join us on Wednesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Driscoll 132 for “Too Crazy to Quit,” a comedy show with Delaware State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton. She is a stand-up comedian, podcaster and Delaware elected official whose work blends humor, politics and social justice. Drawing from her experience as a young Muslim Black woman with vitiligo, she uses comedy to explore identity, power and lived experience while engaging audiences across the country. The event is presented as part of the 2026 Oscar Romero Solidarity Lecture Series and is approved for ACS Cultural Event Credit! Register for the event in our LinkTree in our bio!

03/23/2026

Applications for the Peace and Justice Education Ambassador Program are now open! Come be a part of the change with us! This program is open to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors (preferably PJ Minors or Majors.) The application is found in the LinkTree in our bio. Applications close Friday, April 10th at 11:59pm. Forward any questions to Katie Lenehan at [email protected]

03/20/2026

What do Peace and Justice students do over Spring Break?
Boat cruises? Sunrise hikes? Manual labor? Yes, yes, and yes!
Check out this week in the life of a PJ 4650 student, our 1-credit Service Learning Practicum course offered in collaboration with the Service and Justice Experience program at

03/17/2026

Join us THIS THURSDAY at our Open House for two non violence training sessions! Attend one or both and learn how to take practical action.

Address

St. Rita Hall
Villanova, PA
19085

Telephone

+16105196849

Website

http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/peaceandjustice.html

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