2025 Annual Student-Faculty Conference on Peace and Conflict Studies

Sponsored by the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and Marquette University

Friday, April 4, 2025
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“A More Peaceful and Just Future is Possible: Charting Paths from Failed Institutions to Collective Liberation”

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DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: FRIDAY, February 10, 2025

Pre-Registration: March 1 – April 1, 2025 (link TBA)

On-site Registration: April 4

Draft Schedule Released: March 4, 2025

The Conference

The Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (WIPCS) invites students, academics, and activists to the Marquette University campus for a one-day conference with an opening plenary the evening before on the theme of A More Peaceful and Just Future is Possible: Charting Paths from Failed Institutions to Collective Liberation.

The present moment is a call for action, marked by widespread failures among institutions we have been told will protect us: global climate initiatives have failed to produce meaningful commitments to slow the impacts of climate change; international courts have failed to protect human rights and uphold international law in Sudan, Ukraine, Palestine, the Congo, and beyond; and democratic states have failed to prevent the spread of inequality and authoritarianism at home and abroad. Now more than ever, peacemakers must mobilize.

This year’s conference seeks to explore avenues to act for peace and justice in the face of institutional failure—as activists, students, educators, researchers, artists, professionals, and global citizens. The framework of collective liberation—understanding that my freedom is bound up in yours, that nobody is free until everyone is free—provides peacemakers with a way forward to realizing the more just, equitable, and sustainable world that we know is possible.

There will be multiple ways to engage throughout the day: panels, plenaries, workshops, creative presentations, displays, discussion sessions, and community tours, concluding with our annual awards ceremony.

This 40th annual conference is an initiative of the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies in collaboration with Marquette University. WIPCS is a unique and vital consortium of private and public colleges and universities in Wisconsin dedicated to enriching academic and public discourse on issues of peace and conflict. WIPCS and Marquette University are non-partisan and encourage debate and discussion from multiple perspectives, not only of foreign policy issues and global areas of conflict, but also of domestic inequalities, gender relations, and environmental sustainability.

Call for Papers

Faculty, students, activists, and youth who wish to participate are encouraged to submit proposals to present. Submissions may represent a variety of formats:

  • Individually submitted papers (to be organized into panels by the conference committee)
  • Panels (3-4 individual papers or presenters linked thematically)
  • Films, creative works, photographic displays, and art presentations
  • Roundtable discussions (interactive, facilitated discussion led by presenter/s)
  • Teaching and/or skill-building, interactive workshops

Peace and conflict studies are very broad and can engage with virtually any academic discipline. Thus, we will consider all proposals. We especially encourage submission of proposals that align with the conference theme: A More Peaceful and Just Future is Possible: Charting Paths from Failed Institutions to Collective Liberation and/or that address the following areas:

  • Establishing and supporting broad-based movements for peace, justice, and liberation, including under repressive conditions.
  • Being accountable to people and communities most impacted by interpersonal and systemic violence.
  • Building our understanding of power through knowledge of how oppressed communities are differently affected by domination systems.
  • Exploring the depth and breadth of peace scholarship originating from a wide range of disciplines, including those not commonly represented.
  • Exposing global challenges such as mass migration, resource-motivated military interventions, and the disparate effects of environmental changes in a post-colonial world. 
  • Critiquing state power and militarism that inhibits popular movements for peace, justice, and liberation.

WIPCS, Marquette University Peace Studies, and the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking are committed to providing a welcoming environment designed to facilitate the sharing of work and ideas across disciplines, especially to first time presenters.

You can submit your proposal here. Submissions are limited to 2 per person.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact conference organizer, Jenna Harb, at [email protected]

Registration

Details regarding registering are forthcoming.

Hotel & travel information:

Conference-rate rooms have been reserved at the nearby Ambassador Hotel. Please call (414) 345-5000 and ask for WIPCS rates.