On March 22nd, CERC was proud to host Professor Kevin Kester for its seminar series. The seminar focused on exploring Higher Education (HE) pedagogies for peace with university educators in four divided and conflict-affected contexts: China/Taiwan, Cyprus, Korea, and Somalia.

Professor Kester’s study investigated the teaching of peace and reconciliation through HE in settings affected by conflict. Using a combination of fieldwork, document analysis, and interviews with 40 faculty members, he employed inductive thematic analysis to generate four themes: community, complexity, criticality, and change. These themes were then further analyzed through the lenses of cultural political economy of education and borderlands.

The findings of Professor Kester’s research revealed contested interpretations and creative and resilient approaches to the teaching of peace in divided contexts. The study highlighted the challenges and opportunities of teaching peace in conflict-affected settings and emphasized the importance of education in promoting peaceful coexistence.

The seminar was joined by CERC members, master students in the Faculty as well as other scholars from around the world through online participation. CERC is looking forward to hosting more seminar in the coming April.