Manhattan College to Host Six Events During Peace and Justice Week

Manhattan College will host six events during its annual Peace and Justice Week, beginning on Monday, February 25.

The theme of this year’s Peace and Justice Week is “(Un)just Institutions,” with a focus on how we can make various social institutions that have been recently hit by allegations of unethical behavior more just.  

Monday, February 25, 4:30 p.m., Kelly Commons Room 4C
Noberini Psychology Colloquium: Psychology Gone Bad: How the Powerful Mislead Us about What's Happening, What's Right and What's Possible

Keynote speaker: Roy Eidelson, Ph.D., past president, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, former executive director, Solomon Asch Center for Ethnopolitical Conflict, University of Pennsylvania

Eidelson is a practicing clinical, research and political psychologist for more than 30 years. His most recent book is Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What’s Happening, What’s Right, and What’s Possible. He is a member of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, which advocates against complicity in torture and in favor of restoring psychology’s commitment to “do-no-harm” ethics. In addition to his Psychology Today blog, Eidelson’s writing has appeared in outlets such as the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Alternet and Truthout.

This event is sponsored by the Psychology department, Psychology Club and the Peace and Justice Studies program. The event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, February 26, 3:30 p.m., O'Malley Library Room 100 (Alumni Room)
Sexual Abuse: A Project for Justice in the Church and Society

Manhattan College chaplain Fr. Thomas Franks, OFM, Cap., Brother Jack Curran, FSC, Ph.D., Vice President, Mission and Natalia Imperatori-Lee, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies and director of the Catholic Studies program, will engage in a discussion on the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal – its history and what developments to expect going forward. The discussion will be moderated by Heidi Furey, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Ethics.

This panel discussion is sponsored by the Peace and Justice Studies program, the Office of Mission, the Catholic Studies program, the Center for Ethics and the department of Religious Studies. The event is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, February 27, noon, Miguel 209 (Cornerstone)
Research Brown Bag: They Can’t Search Her: How Gender Imbalances in the Police Force Contribute to Perceptions of Procedural Unfairness with Madeleine Novich, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology

Novich will present the results of her analyses of 253 in-depth interviews of San Francisco-based male and female drug-dealing gang members, which focused on how interactions with a male-dominated police force, who were required to search only suspects of the same gender, affected perceptions of fair policing.

Novich is an assistant professor of sociology at Manhattan College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, where she completed her Ph.D. Her research focuses on policing and perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy among criminalized populations. The research talk is sponsored by the Peace and Justice Studies program.

Wednesday, February 27, 7:30 p.m., Jasper Lounge
Agape Latte: My Pants Are Too Tight, And Other Uncomfortable Fits with
Natalia Imperatori-Lee, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, director of the Catholic studies program

In this informal conversation, Imperatori-Lee will discuss her own experience as an academic, navigating a professional world for which she, by her own admission, often felt like an ill-fit. Imperatori-Lee will talk about different junctions in her “life map” and how she used the concept of an ill-fit or discomfort to urge herself to change her circumstances. Her talk will cover a wide range: from decisions about life partnerships and children, to negotiating commitments to both feminism and the Catholic Church.

This talk is sponsored by Campus Ministry and Social Action and by the Peace and Justice Studies program.

Thursday, February 28, 1:30 p.m., Kelly Commons 5A
Approaching Intersectionality: Returning to the Combahee River Collective
A student panel discussion with Gabriella Ramirez, David Caiafa and Evaniz Orellana

In this panel discussion, Manhattan College students Gabriella Ramirez, David Caiafa, and Evaniz Orellana will draw on the work of the Combahee River Collective and highlight the necessity of adapting an intersectional framework in academia and beyond. They will recall and politicize personal experiences through the lens of intersectional theory, crediting black intersectional theorists such as bell hooks and the Combahee River Collective.

This panel discussion is sponsored by the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center and the Peace and Justice Studies program.

Friday, March 1, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (full day; lunch included) or 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (half day), Kelly Commons 4A and 4B
On-Campus Intergroup Dialogue Retreat

The intergroup dialogue retreat is an opportunity for students to develop dialogue about and across identity differences. Blending theory with experiential learning, intergroup dialogue allows for the exploration of core social justice issues related to social identities, conflict, privilege, oppression, community and solidarity. The focus of the workshop will be on creating understanding relationships and developing communication skills related to careful listening and meaningful dialogue. The workshop will be facilitated by experts in the field, and will aim to promote equity and democracy within the Manhattan College community.  

This retreat is sponsored by Campus Ministry and Social Action, the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center and the Peace and Justice Studies program.

For more information on Peace and Justice Week, contact Nuwan Jayawickreme, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, at nuwan.jayawickreme@manhattan.edu or (718) 862-7987.