Professor William French Brief Biography
Item
Title
Professor William French Brief Biography
Description
Associate Professor of Theology and Director of Peace Studies Loyola University of Chicago
Bill French discusses in the interview both the affiliation of the two schools and his participation in the Peace Studies committee to create the program at Loyola. In commenting on the affiliation in the early 1990s, he mentions that it was a time of sadness and loss for those connected to Mundelein College. French then goes on to explain what led to the creation of Peace Studies. The Bishops Pastoral Letter called for courses focused on war and peace issues, as well as to engage with the pacifist heritage, engage just war tradition and engage sadness of aggression of holy war. Mundelein College was also the seventh institution in founding the national Peace Studies Association. Dean Kathleen McCourt asked French to serve on the Peace Studies committee, where the members identified a list of courses. There existed an ideological split on what the program should be - whether Peace and Conflict Studies or Peace Studies. In the end, the committee came to a compromise, keeping elements of both.
Bill French discusses in the interview both the affiliation of the two schools and his participation in the Peace Studies committee to create the program at Loyola. In commenting on the affiliation in the early 1990s, he mentions that it was a time of sadness and loss for those connected to Mundelein College. French then goes on to explain what led to the creation of Peace Studies. The Bishops Pastoral Letter called for courses focused on war and peace issues, as well as to engage with the pacifist heritage, engage just war tradition and engage sadness of aggression of holy war. Mundelein College was also the seventh institution in founding the national Peace Studies Association. Dean Kathleen McCourt asked French to serve on the Peace Studies committee, where the members identified a list of courses. There existed an ideological split on what the program should be - whether Peace and Conflict Studies or Peace Studies. In the end, the committee came to a compromise, keeping elements of both.