War and Peace in a Time of Terror (DT9042C)

Content

In a time of increasing threat of war and growing terrorist activity, this unit provides a structured way of bringing the Catholic Social Tradition to bear on issues associated with conflict in the world today. Further, the unit contributes to making Christian moral thought on these issues more widely known and so equipping students to engage more effectively in the public forum. The unit includes the following components: an historical, biblical, and theological examination of the concepts of peace and war; pacifism and the early church; pre-Christian antecedents of the just war tradition; the concept of “holy war”; the development of the just war principles; a moral critique of “just war”; ecumenical perspectives; a moral analysis of terrorism; a critique of the adequacy of pacifist and just war thought as a moral response to the problems of the contemporary world.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

This unit adds to the postgraduate moral theology elective units available and could be studied as such in most postgraduate courses. The unit itself does not have any prerequisites.

Pedagogy

Option A: Learners will engage with weekly lecture input, directed reading activities, facilitated peer discussions, electronic resources and formative feedback to achieve the learning outcomes. Option B: Learners will engage in intensive mode with lecture input, directed reading activities, facilitated peer discussion, electronic resources and formative feedback, to achieve the learning outcomes. Option C: Learners will engage in mixed-mode learning through 36 engagement hours (24 hours on-campus mode plus 12 hours online mode), directed reading activities, personal study through electronic resources and assessment tasks, to achieve the learning outcomes.

Indicative Bibliography

• Bainton, Roland H. Christian Attitudes Towards War and Peace: A Historical Survey and Critical Re-evaluation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1979.
• Biggar, Nigel. In Defence of War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Hauerwas, Stanley, and Jean Vanier. Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2008.
• Holmes, Arthur F., ed. War and Christian Ethics: Classic and Contemporary Readings on the Morality of War. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic Press, 2005.
• John XXIII. Pacem in Terris. Encyclical Letter. 1963.
• Johnson, James T. Morality and Contemporary Warfare. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
• National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response. Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1983.
• Ramsey, Paul. Speak Up for Just War or Pacifism. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988.
• Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
• Yoder, John H. The War of the Lamb: The Ethics of Nonviolence and Peacemaking. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2009.

Assessment