Jason Springs, associate professor of religion, ethics and peace studies, has been appointed director of doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute, effective July 1, 2016.
He succeeds Asher Kaufman, professor of history and peace studies. Ann Mische, associate professor of sociology and peace studies, served as interim DDS for a year.
The Kroc Institute offers a Ph.D. in peace studies in partnership with Notre Dame’s departments of history, political science, psychology, sociology, theology and anthropology. Established in 2008, the program now enrolls 32 students.
“In just a few short years Kroc’s program has had remarkable success in establishing itself as one of the finest peace studies doctoral programs in the country,” Springs said. “I look forward to capitalizing on these early successes, and further building upon the strong showing we have had in placing our graduates in tenure-track positions in peace studies and its complementary fields.”
Springs says he will continue to clarify and streamline the interdisciplinary character of the program by looking for ways to more efficiently integrate training in peace research and teaching with the work of Kroc’s partnering fields and programs.
The Peace Studies doctoral program trains students in the rigorous interdisciplinary study of the causes and conditions of violence, conflict transformation, and strategic peacebuilding. It prepares graduates for research and teaching careers in peace studies as well as in the fields of history, political science, psychology, sociology, and theology; and for work as peacebuilding practitioners employed by intergovernmental or nongovernmental organizations.
Springs has taught at the University of Notre Dame since 2008. He is the author of Toward a Generous Orthodoxy: Prospects for Hans Frei’s Postliberal Theology (Oxford University Press, 2010), and co-author (with Atalia Omer) of Religious Nationalism: A Reference Handbook (ABC-CLIO, 2013). He is completing a book project entitled From Enemy to Adversary: Transforming Conflict in an Era of Religious Intolerance. His current research project studies restorative justice initiatives in reducing violence and building peace in Chicago’s South and West sides.
Contact: Jason Springs, (574) 631-0931, jspring1@nd.edu