CHILDREN
AND WAR
March 23 and March 30, 2000
Wars worldwide have changed dramatically over the last several decades. Battlefields often run through city centers and the vast majority of casualties now are civilians. Children find themselves at the epicenter of political violence today. They are killed in greater numbers than soldiers, they constitute half of all refugee populations, and hundreds of thousands serve as child soldiers. Yet children also show remarkable courage and resilience in the face of warfare: many have strong political ethics, and even work diligently for peace. They help rebuild war-devastated societies in ways we are just beginning to explore in academia. This seminar will take participants to the front lines of wars around the world, and into the lives of children -- into their hopes, dreams, fears, and solutions to one of the most pressing problems facing humankind today.
“I had high hopes for an interesting two days. My hopes were actually surpassed by the excellence and scope of the presentation. DO NOT CHANGE! I will remember this seminar.”
- Participant
“I would do this again and again. More than anything I am delighted to increase my knowledge. I had assumed their course would be very heady but from the ‘get-go’ all participants and Ms. Nordstrom applied this to our present employment and place in the world. [TAS] has renewed my respect in teachers again.”
- Judith Simon
“[Professor’s approach was] fresh, current, enthusiastic, interesting and structured. The overall [TAS] experience can be incorporated in many ways. It is in one’s appreciation and understanding of current problems that we become effective, discerning and illustrative teachers.”
- Robert Ernst
CAROLYN NORDSTROM is Associate Professor of Anthropology and a Fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace. She studies the anthropology and ethnography of violence and socio-political conflict. She is author of A Different Kind of War Story and Fieldwork Under Fire: Contemporary Studies of Violence and Survival.
“I really like the idea behind this program where Notre Dame is reaching out to integrate in a more dynamic way with members of the community, especially with other teachers... it’s a neat handshake. I found the program delightful. I loved linking Notre Dame with our community and the interaction was fun, educational for me, and rewarding.”
- Carolyn Nordstrom