Author Archives: Kimberly Gomez

Can Peace be a profession?

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Because peace studies is an interdisciplinary major, it can be a profession in many ways. Peace Studies has provided me with a skill set that can be applied and molded to address any issue internationally and interpersonally. Peace can be a profession in many ways because it requires frustration over injustice and working to do something about it. I want to pursue peace as a profession because I want to help foster change.

Personally, I am angered and frustrated by the state of the world in general and I want to actively work towards making a positive difference. I am not sure which route I want to go about peace as a profession in the long run but in the near future, I plan to use the skill set in a Los Angeles K-12 public school in a low-income area. Why? The school-to-prison pipeline should not be a thing. The fact that it even exists is a testament that the government has failed students, especially students belonging to minority groups who make up most of the demographic of the school-to-prison pipeline. Students are more than the sum of their parts. English, being a person’s second language, should not be viewed as a setback. A student’s academic success should not be dependent on the area in which they live or their socioeconomic status. I can make a difference for the students that I will be working with because I can empathize with them on a personal level, as I also attended low-income Los Angeles public schools. Some of the schools I might work at will be those my parents attended. College, success, family planning and other factors should be the rule and not the expectation. I think that I can utilize mediation, conflict analysis mechanisms, and an intersectional lens to help the students. I want to help students have the support that I received throughout my education and help inspire students from underrepresented communities to enter spaces that they thought were impossible. I think that this program will allow me to give back and grow as a person allowing me to employ the skillset I have gained at Chapman.

Last year I studied the importance of ethnic studies and descriptive representation in K-12 public schools, and it makes a large difference for students belonging to racial minorities. Culture matters, representation matters, and I want to work with the students at these schools because they matter and are just as capable of success as their white, affluent counterparts.

I chose Peace Studies because I could not and did not want to focus on a singular issue. I want to be able to pursue a variety of issues that are important and have an expansive versatile skill set to make a difference. I also think that peace is not only just a profession but a life style. It requires empathy, solidarity, and working to help all marginalized groups. Peace is a profession that is more than just wanting change but doing something to create the change you wish to see.

Interview with Dr. Luevano

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Growing up in a Mexican American household where traditional gender roles were reinforced I have always been extremely frustrated by machismo. My grandmother made sure that I learned about Mexico and the issues that caused her to emigrate and that is when I came across the term femicide for the first time. Femicide: killing of women because they are women. One of the most if not the most extreme form of gender based violence. In 2023 it is estimated that 10 women were victims of femicide everyday. For me it was a no brainer what I wanted my capstone to focus on when I decided to major in peace and justice studies. 

For the interview assignment I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Rafael Luevano who is a professor of religious studies at Chapman University. In 2012 Luevano published the book “Woman-Killing in Juarez: Theodicy at the Border”. During our meeting we discussed femicide in Mexico as well as the reality of conducting this kind of work. I asked him about the correlation between domestic violence and femicide and he explained that it is a very important factor to consider when researching femicide.A significant amount of femicides in Mexico are women being killed by their partners where there is a history of domestic violence. It is important to note that here we were looking at all forms of domestic violence: physical, psychological, financial and sexual violence. Domestic violence in Mexico often goes without punishment as does femicide. The impunity for these crimes perpetuates gender inequality and gender based violence. 

Another aspect of femicide in Mexico that we discussed is the difficulty to find accurate quantitative data. As the crime of femicide goes underreported espeacially in rural areas it is difficult to find a solid reflection of the gravity of the situation. Then in cases where femicide is reported there is an attempt by news reporters to deny women their victimhood. In tabloids women are slandered as an attempt to justify the femicide. On this topic we also talked about the feminist responses to femicide . Women, mothers and fathers are sick and tired of this culture of violence and the impunity for the culture and structures that allow their daughters’ murders to go without punishment. There has been a shift in Mexico’s feminist movement from only benefiting middle class women in metropolitan cities to a movement led by women from small communities who are the mothers, sisters and daughters of murdered women. The feminist movement has also shifted from nonviolent to violent in response to increasing rates of femicide. Dr. Rafael Luevano and I also discussed the possibility of my capstone focusing mainly on feminist responses to femicide in Mexico. 

The last topic we discussed is the possibility of a career in Peace and Justice in regards to gender issues. He explained that when conducting the research for his book there were times when he felt his personal safety threatened and he was told by friends and colleagues to stop. He told me that there is a demand for people willing to take on this topic. To pursue research and a career aiming to end femicide in Mexico is not a want but a need that is often taken on by people who have a personal connection to the state. 

I am very grateful to Dr. Rafael Luevano for taking the time to meet with me and I plan to keep him in the loop as I move forward with my capstone project. 

“Shared Humanity: Conversations between Jews and Palestinians for a better tomorrow”

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The Israel-Palestine conflict has been long lasting and is entrenched in history and international law. After the recent events on October 7th conversations regarding the conflict have been something that most have avoided or only discuss in private. The shared humanity events last week were helpful not only in providing context but also in demonstrating that differing perspectives and backgrounds can be a foundation for a more fruitful conversation and working relationship. 

Mira Sucharov, Jewish Canadian political science professor and Palestinian American legal professor Omar Dajani both utilized their familial history, lived experience and academic expertise to provide context and insight to the conflict. One thing that they did that I thought was really interesting was that they defined context. Both speakers elaborated that context is history, politics and international treaties. My takeaway was that you have to understand both the Israeli history and the Palestinian history and merge them in order to get the full picture and understanding of the past to understand the current situation. I appreciated how both speakers explained how their relationship began and the struggles and strengths of working with a person who they would otherwise not have worked with because of differing opinions. 

Something that kind of bothered me was when Sucharov was talking about how “cool” it was that Palestinians in occupied territories are multilingual speaking Arabic, Hebrew and English. Yes, being trilingual is cool but for these Palestinians it is not necessarily a choice but rather a means of survival. When she mentioned that she did not know it was offensive to speak to a Palestinian in Hebrew I was taken back because she did not realize that she was reasserting the power dynamic of colonialism until she was told it was wrong. What I did appreciate is that she talks about that experience and showcases her personal growth and understanding of a group that she was raised to believe was the “other”. 

The shared humanity event really highlighted that to have a conversation regarding Israel-Palestine with someone with an opposing perspective does not require neutrality and having different perspectives does not directly insinuate a debate. I think that their ability to agree on the points that they do and disagree on others without forcing the other to change their stance was really interesting. Personally I do not think that I am there yet but maybe I could get there some day. I think that the biggest struggle I face is when people deny or justify the atrocities that have been and are committed against the Palestinans. 

The speakers also spoke about chants and slogans utilized by groups advocating for Justice for Palestine and what they mean to them. In his answer regarding this question Dajani made a really interesting point. He explained that with the slogan “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” that his Jewish colleagues felt attacked and interpreted the slogan to signify free of Jews. I think because this conflict deals with identity that people feel themselves and their groups being threatened and the perceived threat to ontological security propels  polarization and intensify the conflict both in the region and internationally.