Finding a Critical Peace Education Praxis of My Own: A Reflexive Inquiry into Peace and Conflict Studies Curriculum and Scholarship on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

The nuances of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) are significantly overlooked in Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) theory and practice. The incomplete framing of SGBV in PACS scholarship and curriculum effectually limits data analysis (Davies and True, 2015), misleads intervention suggestions (Confortini, 2006, p. 349), weds womanhood and victimhood (Garcia Gonzalez, 2016, p. 1), erases the lived experiences of SGBV in peace education scholarship (Mizzi, 2010, p. 1), and asserts colonial voice by reinscribing the gender binary (McLeod and O’Reilly, 2019). To remedy this, PACS scholars and educators must actively combat the academic erasure of SGBV in scholarship and curriculum, and question how to use a critical peace education practice to teach PACS students about sexual and gender-based violence. By reflecting on the lived experiences of a PACS education, this dissertation uses autoethnography and critical active research to aid in the development of a course on SGBV. Through this methodology the operationalization of a critical peace education praxis is considered, context for the course is explored, and tangible content is curated. Together, praxis, context, and content result in a holistic consideration of how to teach PACS students about SGBV. Keywords: sexual and gender-based violence, peace and conflict studies, critical peace education, critical reflexive action research, autoethnography, syllabus design